Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Essay Example

While most people concur about the concerns related to substance abuse by mothers-to-be; the opinion on the consumption of alcohol – especially where a problem has not been identified – is less unanimous. A number of individuals condone mild social drinking even during pregnancy; and believe that it may actually be beneficial in some way. However, the consumption of alcohol during a pregnancy is related to a number of developmental concerns which may be understood as related to the Fetal alcohol syndrome (Havens, Simmons, Shannon, Hansen, 2008).

The fetal alcohol Syndrome or the FAS is a pattern of defects that are seen in children whose mothers have been known to consume high volumes of alcohol during their pregnancy (McCreight, 1997). Although the Surgeon General of the United States (2005) as well as the British Department of Health both have issued recommendations that mothers-to-be and those planning on having children as well as lactating mothers should not drink alcohol at all; this is a safety measure only, since the research into consumption of small amounts of alcohol has been inconclusive.

Some studies (in McCreight, 1997) claim that fetal and infant development is aided by parental exposure to a very low amount of alcohol; while other studies claim that the same behaviour inhibits the same behaviours in infants. The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was first conceptualised by Drs. Jones and Smith from the United States in 1973. In their examinations of patients, they came across a pattern of "craniofacial, limb, and cardiovascular defects associated with prenatal onset growth deficiency and developmental delay" (Jones, & Smith, 1973) that was evident in subjects across maternal age, race, and socio-economic barriers.

The common factor was found to be alcohol consumption; and the syndrome was thus named to aid the identification and awareness about the syndrome and thus reduce incidence. The FAS which is part of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) occurs in just less than one per 1000 live births (Havens, Simmons, Shannon, Hansen, 2008). In order that the condition be diagnosed as FAS; four conditions need to be met fully (McCreight, 1997) – Prenatal alcohol exposure, wherein the child is exposed to alcohol while in the womb; Height, weight or both being lower than the 10th percentile; Facial features of a thin vermilion, A smooth philtrum and Small palpebral fissures are observed Damage to the nervous system is evident.

These conditions have been agreed upon by various diagnostic methods (Jones, & Smith, 1973); and the syndrome has also been included in the ICD – 10. Along with the three physical features mentioned, a child suffering from FAS has stunted growth as exhibited by smaller cranial size and other physical markers of FAS (Havens, Simmons, Shannon, Hansen, 2008). The damage to the nervous system is also an important element of the diagnosis; and is observed in the form of structural, neurological, and functional impairments.

The structural impairments to the nervous system includes small head size, abnormal neuronal migration, callosal dysgenesis and many such conditions that have been linked to alcohol consumption (West, 1986). Often, the structural impairments re not apparent; and the neurological impairments are most often the stimulus for enquiry. Functional impairme