The phenomenon is old, the term for it relatively young: it was only in 1973 that American scientists David Smith and Ken Jones (Seattle USA) named the permanent damage caused by alcohol abuse during pregnancy: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Several thousand alcohol-damaged babies are estimated to be born in Germany every year. They all suffer from the fact that their mothers drank alcohol excessively, permanently and often pathologically during pregnancy. How severe the baby’s particular disability is depends on how much alcohol the mother consumed during pregnancy and how her body processed the harmful substance.
Most severe disabilities in alcohol-damaged babies
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is considered the most common cause of congenital delayed mental development in children. It must always be emphasized that these impairments are not genetic and would be entirely preventable. In the case of an alcohol-dependent pregnant woman, the risk of a physical malformation or mental disorder in the newborn is 32 to 43 percent. But even occasional alcohol consumption during pregnancy is dangerous for the unborn child. There is no limit value below which no impairment of the newborn is to be feared!
What is fetal alcohol syndrome?
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or alcohol embryopathy is a severe brain damage in newborns, the cause of which is always alcohol abuse by the mother during pregnancy. Irreversible consequences are mental disabilities and physical developmental delays of these children. An estimated 4,000 children are born with this form of alcohol embryopathy in Germany every year – experts fear that this is a conservative estimate. If the baby’s organ formation is already complete at the time of alcohol abuse, there are usually only minor externally visible symptoms, although the consequences for the central nervous system are often no less serious. In such cases, one speaks of fetal alcohol effects (FAE). Physicians at the international level now use the term FASD – Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder – to make it clear that all forms of congenital alcohol impairment require special attention. Estimates put the number of children born each year in Germany with such varying degrees of alcohol spectrum disorders at 10,000, although the number of unreported cases is probably much higher.
Alcohol during pregnancy: consequences
That alcohol is a cell poison has long been known and sufficiently scientifically proven. Embryos are particularly sensitive to alcohol during the period of organ development and formation. The embryonic cells cannot develop and multiply sufficiently, so that organs and tissues develop deficiently or defectively. This can affect all organs and organ systems of the embryo, although FAS children are particularly likely to suffer from short stature, underweight and small head, in addition to mental developmental delays and behavioral problems.
FAS – difficult diagnosis
If the mother’s alcohol dependence is known, the diagnosis of FAS is usually easy to make. It becomes more complicated with the children who show little outward symptoms. The changes may be so slight in the child that the parents do not notice a difference from the healthy child. The physical damage can be very different from disturbances in brain performance and behavioral disorders. Thus, the manifestations are very different and often lead to misdiagnosis, in part because many physicians do not have enough experience with the different symptoms of the condition.
Common symptoms of FAS
These are common symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome:
- Typical physical signs include underweight, short stature, small stature, and poor muscle development.
- Typical facial changes may occur, with children having small eyes and narrow upper lips, among other symptoms.
- FAS children are often tube fed as infants.
- The disease also gives them a pronounced hypersensitivity of the skin, which makes every touch painful.
- Motor function and sensitivity of the mouth are not sufficiently pronounced.As a result, swallowing and speech development suffer because the muscles of the mouth do not work properly and sounds can not be formed.
- Cognitive developmental delays and behavioral disorders are also among the typical symptoms.
Massive everyday problems
Caring for an FAS infant is complex and grueling. They often require around-the-clock nursing care. Sleep and rest periods for parents and caregivers are rare and usually only possible with a great deal of organizational effort. In many cases, FAS children are not raised by their biological parents – but it is true for all parents that the emotional conspicuousness of their charges is particularly stressful. Children with FAS suffer from mental developmental disorders that massively hinder them in school, in their social maturation and in leading their lives:
- These children learn mostly slowly and can not retain what they have learned.
- Their ability to concentrate is severely limited, they are easily distracted and can not perform even simple tasks or only with great difficulty.
- Many of the affected children are not able to assess the consequences and risks of their actions and repeatedly expose themselves unknowingly to significant dangers, such as when playing, in traffic or even in dealing with other people.
- Punishments or bad experiences do not leave lasting traces with them.
- Often FAS children and adolescents are clearly more naive and gullible than their peers; especially in adolescence, they thus often run the risk of being exploited.
Permanent damage caused by FAS
While the outward signs of alcohol embryopathy fade with age, the mental impairment remains unrestricted. Neither the disorder nor its consequences can be eliminated or remedied. At best, the physical and mental limitations suffered by FAS children can be alleviated with appropriate treatments. These include, for example:
- Speech therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational therapy
- Curative education approaches
There is no medication that can reverse the effects of maternal alcohol abuse during pregnancy.
Tag of the alcohol-damaged child
With this in mind, there is an annual FAS Day, which is held on September 9 each year to draw attention to the fate of FAS children and to address information deficits among the general public, the medical profession, social workers, and caregivers through educational campaigns. International FAS Day, originally launched in Canada, is supported in Germany by the self-help group FASworld Germany and medical experts.
