Effects of Alcohol and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay -- Alcohol Alcohol

Effects of Alcohol and Fetal Alcohol SyndromeWorks Cited MissingAlcohol plays a major role in rescript today. It is constantly universe in our minds through advertisements, whether its commercials orbillboards, holidays, or even just at the popular social scene. Alcohol isconsumed for many purposes, such as celebrations, to increase romance, out ofboredom, or a way to relax. Alcohol is a drug that is depended upon by themajority of our society. Nonetheless, alcoholic beverage has very damaging effects, not only if does it ca substance abuse self-inflicted diseases resembling alcoholism or cirrhosisof the liver, but it harms unborn fetuses as well. Many women drink alcoholwhen they do not even know that they argon pregnant yet. Alcohol can cause affections such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects.Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, FAS, is a congenital disorder which ischaracterized by a variety of physical and behavioral traits that result frommaternal alcohol consumption duri ng pregnancy. The term Fetal Alcohol Effects,FAE, indicates that alcohol is being considered as one of the possible causes ofa patients birth defects. In other words, FAE is a less severe form of FAS.Both FAS and FAE are the results of the use of teratogens, which are nongeneticinfluences that can potentially complicate fetal development.(Harris, p.85)FAS is due to the mothers consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.Alcohol in the womans bloodstream circulates to the fetus via the placenta.There, the alcohol intrudes with the ability of the fetus to receive asufficient amount of oxygen and nourishment for normal development in the brainand other body organs. The critical time for alcohol teratogenicity is aroundthe time of conception.Effects of FAS/FAEAlthough alcohol is the only cause of FAS, there are unfortunatelynumerous effects. Infants with FAS may use up a derelict sucking response and anirregular sucking pattern early in life. Some doctors describe them asdistracted and fa tigued when sucking. Withdrawal symptoms such as prolongedtwitching, jitteriness, sweating, and hyperactivity have also been reported ininfants exhibited to alcohol before birth. (Timberlake and Birch, p.1)Prenatal alcohol exposure is one of the leading known causes of mental meantime in the United States. Mental retardation is usually mild tomode... ...st bean increase in the number of women who abstain from alcohol during theirpregnancies. To reach that goal advance research needs to continue. There mustbe an improvement in public health surveillance methods, a refinement inmethods used for identifying children who have been affected by prenatal alcoholexposure, a demonstration in the effectiveness of primary prevention programs,and an investigation on the effectiveness of secondary encumbrance strategies,such as foster-care placement and special education strategies.(Centers forDisease Control and Prevention, p.4)Not all women who drink during pregnancy will have an infant wit h FAS orFAE, but if there is a 40-50% risk of harming the fetus, why chance it? Womenshould be more careful when drinking, because drinking often leads to sex evenif it is not planned. The outdo prevention for FAS/FAE is to either abstain fromsexual intercourse while consuming alcohol, or abstain from alcohol whileplanning a pregnancy. consequently sexual partners should use birth control.Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects are fully preventable and theresponsibility lies within the role of being parents.