Five-month-old non-identical twins in France, one of them more affected than the other by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Although the two girls were exposed to identical amounts of alcohol in utero, the one on the left shows stronger signs of FAS than the other, illustrating how genetic susceptibility is a factor as well as alcohol exposure in causing FAS. Little is known about the thresholds of alcohol that cause FAS. The children were abandoned at birth by their mother, a prostitute.
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a term used to describe the damage some unborn children suffer when their mothers drink during pregnancy. Alcohol in the mother's bloodstream can be toxic to the developing fetus depending on the stage of pregnancy and how much she drinks. Damage can range from subtle to severe, causing clumsiness, behavioral problems, stunted growth, disfigurement, intellectual disability. Thousands of babies are born with alcohol-related defects each year, ranking FAS as one of the leading known causes of intellectual disability. Not all mothers who drink have babies with FAS. Some doctors believe that any alcohol puts the baby at risk, while nearly all agree that binge drinking is perilous, especially during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, when many women don't yet know they are pregnant. Fetal alcohol syndrome has a predictable long-term progression into adulthood in which maladaptive behaviors present the greatest challenge to management.
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