Treatment of FASDs Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Treatment of FASDs Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

It’s also recommended that you not drink alcohol if you’re sexually active and not using effective drunken baby syndrome birth control. It can take four to six weeks before you know you’re pregnant. During early pregnancy, the fetus is already developing rapidly. Alcohol consumption could harm the developing fetus at any time during pregnancy — especially early on in the development process. One person might have only a few, while another person could experience all of them.

Risks of Drinking While Pregnant

An individual with FAS may have noticeable changes to their face and limbs, as well as delays in the way their body develops over time. There can also be mental and emotional challenges throughout the person’s life that can impact their social life, education and work. This is the best thing you can do for yourself and your baby.

Alternative treatments

The brothers, from Dromore, in County Down, are living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), meaning that exposure to alcohol in the womb has left them with life-long disabilities. Diagnosing FASDs can be difficult because there is no single or simple test that can cover the broad range of FASD signs and symptoms. A pediatric medical home provider and/or other pediatric or developmental specialists usually make the FASD diagnosis after one or more appropriate evaluations. Be sure to ask your pediatrician if you are worried that your child may have an FASD and need further evaluation.

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You can also find your nearest alcohol support services or read advice on cutting down your drinking and alcohol in pregnancy. There is no particular treatment for FASD, and the damage to a child’s brain and body cannot be reversed. But an early diagnosis and support can make a big difference. Some parents and their children seek alternative treatments outside of the medical establishment. These include healing practices, such as massage and acupuncture (the placement of thin needles into key body areas). Alternative treatments also include movement techniques, such as exercise or yoga.

Treatment

“Binge drinking” (having 4  or more drinks at a time) is especially dangerous for your baby. It makes the level of alcohol in your blood (and the baby’s blood) go very high very quickly. Even if you don’t drink every day, you may put your baby at risk for FASD if you drink alcohol. Women who are pregnant or who are trying to get pregnant should not drink any amount of alcohol. Pregnant women with alcohol use disorder should join a rehabilitation program and be checked closely by a health care provider throughout pregnancy. To diagnose someone with FAS, the doctor must determine that they have abnormal facial features, slower than normal growth, and central nervous system problems.

Fetal alcohol syndrome Alcoholics Anonymous happens when a person drinks any alcohol during pregnancy, including wine, beer, hard ciders and “hard liquor”. One reason alcohol is dangerous during pregnancy is that it’s passed through your bloodstream to the fetus through the umbilical cord. The baby doesn’t metabolize (break down) alcohol in the same way an adult does – it stays in the body for a longer period of time. This condition can be prevented if you don’t drink any alcohol during pregnancy.

• Drinking alcohol at any time during pregnancy can harm your baby.
• Alcohol use during pregnancy causes life-long issues that can be very serious.
• Visit these blogs for more tips and information about fetal alcohol syndrome.
• FASDs may have similar symptoms to other disorders and are often misdiagnosed.
• It’s also recommended that you avoid beverages containing alcohol when you’re trying to become pregnant.
• The body of a developing fetus doesn’t process alcohol the same way as an adult does.

Research & Education

Not all infants exposed to alcohol in utero will have detectable FASD or pregnancy complications. The risk of FASD increases with amount consumed, the frequency of consumption, and the longer duration of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, particularly binge drinking. The variance seen in outcomes of alcohol consumption during pregnancy is poorly understood. Diagnosis is based on an assessment of growth, facial features, central nervous system, and alcohol exposure by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals. The main criteria for diagnosis of FASD is nervous system damage and alcohol exposure, with FAS including congenital malformations of the lips and growth deficiency.