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Home › Articles › Illnesses, Diseases & Disorders › Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Why Moms-to-be Shouldn't Even Have "Just One"

By Teri Brown

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

What Can You Do?
"Unfortunately, many pediatricians and OB/GYNs have not been trained in the diagnosis, and there are still many doctors who tell women it is OK to drink moderately," McKinney says.

Dr. Kenneth Johnson, the director of the Women's Health Center at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., says it is impossible to tell if a child has FAS or FASDs while still in the womb. "If a woman thinks she may have a baby with fetal alcohol syndrome because she drank alcohol while she was pregnant, I recommend she go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web page for fetal alcohol syndrome," Dr. Johnson says. "Currently there are no tests to diagnose fetal alcohol syndrome. Ultrasound can sometimes suggest that a baby might be affected at birth."

Facial abnormalities can often be an indicator. These can include the following:

  • Small eye openings or skin webbing between eyes and base of nose
  • Drooping eyelids
  • Nearsightedness
  • Failure of eyes to move in same direction
  • Short upturned nose
  • Sunken nasal bridge
  • Flat or absent groove between nose and upper lip
  • Thin upper lip

If your newborn has some of these attributes, you'll want to ask your health care provider to refer you to a specialist.

Treatment and Support
"There are many support networks for FASD families and ones especially for birth mothers," McKinney says. "We have a warm line in which a birth mother can call us and talk with another birth mother, and support groups are available."

There is no treatment for fetal alcohol syndrome, as the brain damage is irreversible. But a stable, loving family and knowledge of the disorders can go a long way in helping a child reach his or her potential.


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