According to an article by Mary J. O'Connor in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol abuse, children with fetal alcohol syndrome may show cognitive and attention deficits, increased activity levels, problems in inhibition and state regulation, perseverative behavior, and expressive language and motor problems Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of mental, physical, and behavioral defects that may develop in the unborn child when its mother drinks during pregnancy. These defects occur primarily during the first trimester when the teratogenic effects of the alcohol have the greatest effect on the developing organs · Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) have also been identified to be at a higher risk of developing a disorder called Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). An empirical research study conducted by Doig, McLennan and Gibbard () confirms the correlation between ADHD and prenatal exposure to alcohol
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay on
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Get homework Help now! Consuming alcohol of any amount during pregnancy cannot be regarded as harmless to the fetus. Even though a causal relationship between alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the toxic effects on the unborn child has not yet been established, it is evident that the idea fetal alcohol syndrome essay responsible drinking and low risk is not applicable to pregnant women.
The fetus is safer if the mother desists from alcohol consumption. Women relax and forget to take care of their own health and those of their babies during pregnancy. The fetal alcohol syndrome essay as a whole should be significantly concerned with the effects of alcohol use in young children. In particular, the occurrence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome FAS is one of the most imminent problems in the modern prenatal medicine.
The syndrome is a major problem that requires immediate fixing. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome FAS refers to numerous mental, physical, behavioral and learning difficulties suffered by a child because her mother engaged in alcohol consumption during pregnancy. FAS was first discovered in the at the University of Washington in Seattle by two men David Smithland Kenneth Jones Golden, Not all fetuses are affected by FAS. The main reasons why the disease affects some children and not others is not fully known, fetal alcohol syndrome essay.
According to CDCeach year, between 0. When a person takes alcohol, numerous metabolic reactions happen in her body. Firstly, the alcohol gets into the blood through the digestive tract. Alcohol dehydrogenase ADH is then oxidized to produce acetaldehyde.
An enzyme known as the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH changes the acetaldehyde into acetic acid. The acid is then synthesized through a series of complex processes fetal alcohol syndrome essay broken down into water H 2 O and carbon dioxide CO 2 that are then discharged outside the body.
This is because estrogen in pregnant women is impedes the activities of both ADH and ALDH Balatbat, During the first trimester, the volume of estrogen in the serum increases by between 10 and times, fetal alcohol syndrome essay.
In late pregnancy, it increases by between and times. As a result, a pregnant woman is at a disadvantage because alcohol cannot be efficiently metabolized. Worse still, a fetus lacks the capability to break down alcohol molecules Balatbat, The fetus is a highly vulnerable being, particularly during the first three trimesters of pregnancy. The high vulnerability is explained by the fact that during these stages, the fetus is developing its basic formations.
The fetus is affected by everything the mother is exposed to, including alcohol. Consequently women who take alcohol when they are pregnant cause a chain of incorrect development fetal alcohol syndrome essay the fetus Soby, fetal alcohol syndrome essay, According to Sobya pregnant female who drinks 3 ounces of pure alcohol each day exposes the fetus to high risk of FAS. This in turn prevents the fetus from receiving enough oxygen supply.
The mutation in the fetus DNA cells leads to abnormalities in the development of different body tissues and organs. Alcohol is also known to be a cause of lack of vitamin in the fetus organism. Furthermore, some women are often not aware that they are pregnant during the initial three to four weeks of their pregnancy.
Because they do not know, they continue with their habit of alcohol consumption, which adversely affects the cartilage formation during the entire embryonic stage. The fetal stage starts after approximately 46 to 48 days and continues until the baby is born.
This period determines the future of the child, because it is during this stage that the baby is formed. Even lesser use of alcohol during this period may result in irreparable harm to the fetus. The destruction happens inside the fetus causing irreversible damage on the genetic makeup. The mechanism though which alcohol originates and leads to the development of FAS is not yet clear. However, a number of mechanisms have been put forward.
In particular, alcohol exposure during the first trimester affects embryo development, which results in visceral and skeletal abnormalities, fetal alcohol syndrome essay. Similarly, exposure to alcohol at later development stages leads to behavioral anomalies.
Alcohol equally causes the collapse of umbilical vessels, these results in reduced fetal blood flow leading to hypoxia that has been found to be a cause of alcohol-related growth retardation. Another mechanism fetal alcohol syndrome essay prostaglandin synthesis.
Alcohol intake may increase the volume of prostaglandins that consequently hinder fetal blood flow. There are many risk factors linked to FAS. It is worth emphasizing that FAS arises because of alcohol use in the fetal alcohol syndrome essay of pregnancy. The quantity and frequency of alcohol intake is one of the leading risk factors, fetal alcohol syndrome essay. Women who are binge drinkers those who fetal alcohol syndrome essay no less than 5 drinks in each occasion are exposed to the risk of FAS compared to those women who consume the same amount over an extended time period, fetal alcohol syndrome essay.
The more chronic the binge drinking, the severe the damage and the exposure is likely to happen during critical stages of fetus development. Evidence indicates that even small doses of alcohol are dangerous because all FAS cases have been diagnosed among women who take alcohol, fetal alcohol syndrome essay. The risk of FAS is positively correlated with age.
This can be due to the fact as age increases, concentration of alcohol in the blood rises. As age increases, the ratio water to body fat increases, which results in higher levels of alcohol in the blood. Social-economic status is yet another risk factor. Although FAS affects all races, its prevalence is much higher among people with low social-economic status. Poverty may be positively correlated with drug abuse. The last risk factor is genetics. As already noted, fetal alcohol syndrome represents numerous problems as a result; there are many symptoms and signs associated with FAS.
Infants with FAS tend to exhibit a number of characteristics. Firstly, they fetal alcohol syndrome essay distinctive facial features that include a smooth ridge in between the nose and upper lip, a small head, tiny eyes, a very tinny upper lip and other unusual facial characteristics.
These children also tend to have delayed growth. In particular, these children have less than expected height; they have a thin head circumference and have less weight.
In addition, these children tend to delay in the development of language, motor skills and social skills among others. Other symptoms include hypersensitivity, learning disabilities, lower IQ, mental retardation, mood swings, heart problems, and difficulties in understanding particular concepts such as time, mathematics and money, memory lapses, fetal alcohol syndrome essay, lack of problem solving skills, hearing and visual impairments, and lack of focus Burd et al.
There are many secondary conditions that develop from FAS. Firstly, individuals with FAS face many barriers in life, which denies them the opportunity to enjoy life like their normal counterparts. They are unable to complete their schooling in time, find jobs and cannot live on their own without support.
The syndrome also leads to communication problems. These barriers make their lives to depend on others. Fetal alcohol syndrome essay addition, they tend to feel isolated because at young age their peers tend to avoid them. Second, FAS patients have undeveloped social skills, which make their social adaptation very difficult.
They cannot think logically and as a result, they continuously make poor judgments. Similarly, these individuals have no self-control; they cannot build and maintain friendship, and are stubborn and anxious.
Because of the many social defects that these patients have, they tend to be socially withdrawn. Thirdly, the academic performance of children with fetal alcohol syndrome is always lower than fetal alcohol syndrome essay of their healthy counterparts.
In some instances, the IQ of these children allows them to learn almost normally, however, in most cases, the social and language barriers they face acts as a barrier to knowledge acquisition. There are various strategies for preventing fetal alcohol syndrome. Primary strategies focus on education for women and their partners should be conducted in relation to FAS and the negative impacts of alcohol on the unborn baby. Secondly, all women patients who are within the motherhood age should be asked questions relating to their alcohol use and advice given.
With regard to secondary prevention, women who take alcohol when pregnant should be identified and their level of risk assessed. Secondly, expectant mothers who consume alcohol should be counseled on the dangers that they pose to their health and that of the fetus. In addition, they should be counseled on the benefits of avoiding alcohol or reducing intake throughout their pregnancy period.
Under tertiary intervention, women whose future pregnancies are highly exposed to FAS should be identified. After they identified, fetal alcohol syndrome essay, they should be asked the reasons why they are drinking. High risk women who are already pregnant should be referred for necessary treatment. However, in order to help an individual pass this test, physicians must first know that the patient is facing the problem of FAS.
Timely diagnosis of FAS can help the doctors to give a well-timed assistance to a child with FAS, fetal alcohol syndrome essay.
As a result, the syndrome should be diagnosed immediately after they are born. Late diagnosis may result in further complications and problems and reduce the accuracy of diagnosis. The special support that FAS patients desperately need can never be provided if the disease is misdiagnosed.
Similarly, early diagnosis allows the FAS fetal alcohol syndrome essay baby to be socialized into the society. Given that it is not possible to completely cure FAS, physicians may work with the different types of signs and symptoms and try to reduce them by giving the right medication.
As already noted, FAS has no cure, the effects are permanent and the patients have to learn how to live with the disease for the rest of their lives. All these interventions will allow the FAS patient to live close to normal life.
It is quite evident that a FAS patient does not fit well within the contemporary society. This is because such children may need special personal attention fetal alcohol syndrome essay parents and guardians in order to tackle the numerous challenges they face on a day-to-day basis.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
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· This page of the essay has words. Download the full version above. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) refers to a series of birth defects that result from maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. These include physical, mental, learning, and behavioral disabilities that have lifelong blogger.comted Reading Time: 4 mins According to an article by Mary J. O'Connor in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol abuse, children with fetal alcohol syndrome may show cognitive and attention deficits, increased activity levels, problems in inhibition and state regulation, perseverative behavior, and expressive language and motor problems · Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) have also been identified to be at a higher risk of developing a disorder called Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). An empirical research study conducted by Doig, McLennan and Gibbard () confirms the correlation between ADHD and prenatal exposure to alcohol
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