Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a series of mental and physical birth defects The manifestations of these defects are associated with a mother's ingestion of alcohol during pregnancy. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome annually affects between 1.3 and 2.2 children per 1,000 live births in North America. Researchers estimate that cases of Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD) exceed those of FAS by a ratio of 2:1 to 3:1. This would indicate that women in the U.S. annually give birth to between 16,548 and 22,064 children exhibiting the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol.
Alcohol use or abuse by the pregnant woman subjects her to the same range of risks that alcohol does in the general population. However, it poses extreme and unique risks to the fetus and is associated with FAS. Timing of alcohol use during pregnancy is also of importance. Alcohol use during the second trimester is more damaging than use in the third trimester.
Alcohol ingested by a pregnant woman easily passes across the placental barrier to the fetus. Because of this, drinking alcohol can adversely affect the development of the baby.
Research of the Effects of parental ex
There are some tests that physicians can implement to determine FAS. Ultrasound in pregnancy can demonstrate the presence of intrauterine growth retardation. Echocardiogram or ECG measures the infant's heart rate and the sound of the beats. Toxicology screens measures the alcohol level in a mother's blood stream.
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