Alcohol And Fetuses Essay

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Effects of Alcohol and Fetuses
When it comes to pregnancy, expectant mothers usually have a lot of questions and concerns. One such concern is alcohol consumption. Some people feel that it is okay while others are against the consumption. However those who drink take a huge risk that can result in what is referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). This umbrella term is used to describe the range of damage from alcohol exposure to a fetus. The characteristics, diagnosis, and the mother are all important factors to look at when trying to understand these birth defects.
FASD is not a clinical diagnosis, as stated before; it is an umbrella term for the range of disorders that are a result from alcohol exposure in the womb. The different disorders are Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and Alcohol-related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND) and Alcohol-related Birth Defects (ARBD). Another term used in some sources is Fetal Alcohol Effect (FAE); this term came about when researchers noticed that there were individuals that showed some signs of FAS but not all.
The exact way that alcohol causes the characteristics of FASD has not been clearly identified. One theory is that it enters freely into the placenta but does not leave as freely. Another that is because alcohol is a teratogenic, it disrupts developmental growth, that it disrupts nerve cell activity. Even in fairly small amounts the presence of alcohol alters the neurotransmission which then suppresses and disrupts nerve cell activity. (Kinney, 2012). This disrupts the normal fetal nerve development which causes neural cells to turn on themselves; it is believed that a million brain cells are lost because of this disruption.
There are physical and mental characteristics of...

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...on.edu/fasdpn/pdfs/astley-FASD-chapter2011.pdf.

Bertrand J, Floyd RL, Weber MK, O’Connor M, Riley EP, Johnson KA, Cohen DE,
National Task Force on FAS/FAE. (2004). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Guidelines for Referral and Diagnosis.
Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kinney, J. (2012). Loosening the Grip: A handbook of Alcohol Information (10th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hoyme, H. E., May, P. A., Kalberg, W. O., Kodituwakku, P., Gossage, J. P., Trujillo, P. M., et al. (2005). A Practical Clinical Approach to Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Clarification of the 1996 Institute of Medicine Criteria. Pediatrics, 39-47.
Chudley, A., Conry, J., Cook, J., Loock, C., Rosales, T., & LeBlanc, N. (2005). Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Canadian Guidelines for Diagnosis. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 172(5). doi:10.1503/cmaj.1040302

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