The U.S. surgeon general also recommends abstaining from alcohol if you’re trying to conceive. If you’re currently pregnant, it’s never too late to stop drinking—reach out to a healthcare provider if you need help quitting alcohol. An estimated 50–90% of people with FASD are also diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and many other people have secondary mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety. Although FAS is an incurable lifelong condition that is underdiagnosed, treatment can improve its symptoms. This article will discuss the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of FAS in children and adults.

What’s the difference between fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs)?

There is no amount of alcohol that’s known to be safe to drink during pregnancy. If you drink during pregnancy, you place your baby at risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. With any disability, injury, or medical condition, many untested therapies become known and are promoted by informal networks. Before starting such a treatment, check it out carefully, and talk to your child’s healthcare provider. Your child’s healthcare provider will help you weigh the risks and benefits of these therapies.

• A developmental delay or slower brain maturation rate for individuals with PAE warrants the possibility that some of their difficulties may reconcile over time.
• This suggests that alcohol exposure alters both immune and neuroendocrine function, indicating both direct and indirect effects on chronic inflammatory processes 38.
• Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can produce a spectrum of effects, including birth defects, craniofacial anomalies, growth retardation, and central nervous system dysfunction.
• To prevent FASDs, a woman should avoid alcohol if she is pregnant or might be pregnant.

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• Alcohol was not viewed as dangerous for pregnant people until 1973 when the diagnosis of FAS was first implemented.
• Because many people do not know they are pregnant during those first few weeks, the risk of FAS increases if you drink alcohol and have unprotected sex.
• A syndrome is a group of symptoms that happen together as the result of a particular disease or abnormal condition.
• Some studies show it helps reduce hyperactivity but has little effect on improving attention.

FASD is a range of conditions in the child caused by the mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy. There’s no cure or specific treatment for fetal alcohol syndrome. The physical and mental conditions caused by alcohol exposure before birth are lifelong.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Signs and Symptoms

If you are consuming alcohol and trying to become pregnant or you are currently pregnant, reach out to a healthcare provider for help quitting. Although severe FAS can be recognized at birth, diagnosis is usually made between 8 months and 8 years old when the features of FAS are most prominent, with one study finding an average diagnosis age diagnosis of 4 https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/sober-living-what-is-it-how-does-it-work-how-to-choose/ years old. Such programs may focus on improving a child’s behavior with early education and tutoring. Medicine may help a child’s attention problems or hyperactive behaviors. Over time, your child may get help from special education programs and social services. If you think there could be a problem, ask your healthcare provider for a referral to a specialist (someone who knows about FASDs).

MANAGING BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS

Importantly, Streissguth and colleagues 17 found that having a diagnosis before age 6, a stable and nurturing home environment, and access to services may improve some of these outcomes. Research on how these secondary disabilities can be mitigated once an individual reaches adulthood is essential in order to improve the quality of life for adults with FASDs. Find resources and tools to support provision fetal alcohol syndrome of a medical home for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in your practice. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) describes a group of permanent symptoms experienced by people who were exposed to alcohol in utero (during pregnancy).

Ask your healthcare professional or a social worker or mental health professional for local sources of support for children with fetal alcohol syndrome and their families. No one particular treatment is correct for everyone with fetal alcohol syndrome. FAS exists on a spectrum of disorders and the way each person is impacted by the condition can vary greatly.