What is Foetal alcohol?
What is Foetal alcohol?
If you drink alcohol during pregnancy you risk causing harm to your baby. Sometimes this can result in mental and physical problems in the baby, called foetal alcohol syndrome. This can occur because alcohol in the mother’s blood passes to her baby through the placenta.
How do you know if someone has fetal alcohol syndrome?
Distinctive facial features, including small eyes, an exceptionally thin upper lip, a short, upturned nose, and a smooth skin surface between the nose and upper lip. Deformities of joints, limbs and fingers. Slow physical growth before and after birth. Vision difficulties or hearing problems.
How is fetal alcohol syndrome treated?
There’s no cure or specific treatment for fetal alcohol syndrome. The physical defects and mental deficiencies typically persist for a lifetime. However, early intervention services may help reduce some of the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome and may prevent some secondary disabilities.
How common is Foetal alcohol syndrome?
Some experts estimate that approximately 40,000 babies may be born with an FASD in the United States each year. Based on studies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others, it is estimated that in the United States, somewhere between 800 and 8,000 babies could be born each year with FAS.
What does fetal alcohol syndrome look like in children?
Children with fetal alcohol syndrome have facial features such as small eyes, a thin upper lip, and a smooth philtrum (the groove between nose and upper lip). They also can have: Poor growth. Newborns may have low birth weights and small heads.
How common is fetal alcohol syndrome in Australia?
A population prevalence study of FASD in the remote Aboriginal community of Fitzroy Crossing reported a prevalence of 12% (in 108 children)25. This is the highest reported rate in Australia and results are similar to that of other at-risk populations globally.
Can you live a long life with fetal alcohol syndrome?
Depending on early diagnosis and support, life expectancies can increase; however, on average, people with FAS are estimated to live 34 years (95% CI: 31–37 years), which is around 42% of the life expectancies of their general population peers23.
