The Effects Of F.A.S

6 Pages 1417 Words

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is an increasing problem in our nation today. At least 5,000 infants are born each year with FAS, or about one out of every 750 live births, which is an alarming number. In the United States alone, there has been a significant increase in the rate of infants born with FAS, 1 per 10,000 births in 1979 to 8.7 per 10,000 in 2000 (Chang, Wilikins-Haug, Berman, Goetz 1). In the report, “Substance Abuse and the American Woman“, sent out by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, at least one of every five pregnant women uses alcohol and/or other drugs during pregnancy (http:/www.nofas.org/stats.htm). Unfortunately, these figures are increasing, making FAS one of the leading causes of birth defect in our country.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) refers to a group of physical and mental birth defects that are the direct result of a woman’s consumption of alcohol during her pregnancy. It is a series of both mental and physical birth defects ranging from mental retardation, growth deficiencies, central nervous system dysfunction, cranial and facial abnormalities, and behavioral . In addition, FAS is the leading known cause of mental retardation, above both Spina Bifida, and Down’s Syndrome, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2001 (http://www.nofas.org/stats.htm). There are many terrible effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The Institute of Medicine’s article, “The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment“, reports that alcohol produces the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus compared to other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana (http://www.nofas.org/stats.htm).
There is a wide range of effects and disorders that are a result of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome causes physical, mental and emotional effects, which are irreversible. As stated before , FAS is the leading cause of mental retardation. There...