Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Chelsea Canlas
Mount Saint Mary’s University
BIO50A_2
Doctor Liu
3 November 2017
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Pregnancy is a fragile process that requires an abundant amount of self-care and attentiveness. During the first few months, the infant begins forming its brain, arms, legs, and internal organs (Pregnancy and Childbirth 2017). However, although this time is the most critical to the fetus’ physical development, all nine months are equally vulnerable and cannot withstand any dangerous variables that can alter the desired results of the pregnancy. Therefore, it is vital to be cautious when choosing what is safe to eat or drink since anything ingested by the mother can be taken in by her baby. Although there are many sources that can advise expecting parents as to what their diet should be, many people still consume material that is considered toxic to the baby. Alcohol is one of the common harmful substances that can inhibit healthy growth of a human if consumed by its mother during gestation.
Once alcohol is consumed by a mother during any time of her pregnancy, a numerous amount of disorders can be inflicted on her child; these irregularities fall under the category of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). FASD is currently known to be a “hidden disability,” (Nofas.org 2017) for it is usually not diagnosed until later years because it is hard to detect without the mother admitting to drinking alcohol while going through gestation. FASD is not an inherited disease, however, the consumption of alcohol can be linked to genetics. Alcohol can be introduced to the fetus through the placenta, the body structure that sustains it throughout the pregnancy. It should also be noted that newborns can suffer from FASD if the mother chooses to drink alcohol while breastfeeding. People who undergo from FASD face problems both physically and mentally, making it harder for them to live life normally. A few bodily symptoms of FASD include atypical facial features, “smaller head size, low body weight, and shorter-than-average height” (Wilhoit, Scott & Simecka 2017). In addition to that, individuals with FASD “often have impaired cognitive functioning,” (Wilhoit et al. 2017) which can cause them to fall behind not only in their studies, but also in their expected intellectual development. Having underdeveloped cognitive functioning means that they are not able to keep up with the people of their age group, making it necessary for them to require specific services, such as special education or caregivers. These conditions caused by prenatal alcohol exposure can lead to individuals to struggle with bullying and social interactions, prompting them to become “isolated, aggressive, depressed, [and] hyperactive” (Wilhoit et al. 2017). If one who is living with FASD is not diagnosed at the right time, he or she can be exposed to environments that can only worsen certain symptoms, rather than treat them.
People who have undergone prenatal alcohol exposure show similar abnormalities that affect their physical traits. FASD causes issues involving growth retardation, meaning that their overall body size is smaller than average. However, the most significant and visible complications involve facial features. One of the things that begin to form during the first trimester is the fetus’ head and an easy way to distinguish a person living with FASD from one that is not, is by looking at how their face has developed. After years of studying this condition, researchers have found a group of traits that continuously appear in patients’ faces that have been diagnosed with it. The facial abnormalities include a “low nasal bridge, minor ear abnormalities, indistinct philtrum [missing cupid's bow], micrognathia [undersized jaw], thin upper lip, flat midface and short nose, epicanthal folds [skin of the upper lid covers the medial corner of the eye], and short palpebral fissures [small exposure of the eyeball]” (Warren, Hewitt & Thomas 2017). Alcohol causes these deformities by “decreasing the expression of several key genes necessary for development” (Warren et al. 2017). The reduction of these genes causes normal growth to be slowed down, or more difficult to complete; that is why many of the traits related to FASD are known to be underdeveloped, rather than overgrown. Alcohol also contains highly reactive oxygen species, which are free radicals, that contribute to the delayed growth. Free radicals are molecules that have unpaired electrons that find other cells that have electrons that they can steal, potentially taking away important parts of those cells. The cells harmed can be of those that contain genes that are needed for development.
Patients diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders also show deficiencies when it comes to the functioning of their brain. The brain, like the head of the fetus, also begins developing during the first trimester of the pregnancy, however, it can be affected during anytime of its early development. The neurological traits that can distinguish a healthy person from one suffering FASD include difficulty in learning, visual-spatial reasoning, and memorizing. Other characteristics are related to self-control, such as the inability to restrict one’s “mood or behavior, attention, [and or or] impulse control” (Nofas.org 2017). Damage to everyday living skills are also involved such as complications with “language, social communication and interactions, daily living skills, [and or or] motor skills (Nofas.org 2017). These obstacles are due to the underdevelopment of brain structures. The presence of incomplete parts of the brain can be linked to the presence of free radicals in alcohol, as mentioned before. People diagnosed with FASD have brains that show a significant decrease in size, compared to one without FASD. The absence of a significant amount of tissue in the corpus callosum can cause the right and left sides of the brain to lose its mode of communication. This can cause someone to lose sense of coordination, for a body part from the left side of the body can act without the right side of the body knowing. The underdevelopment of the frontal lobe of the brain can cause problems with walking, talking, or making decisions since it is in charge of language, motor skills, and judgement. If the cerebellum does not complete its growth, a person can lack the ability to balance themselves or maintain their stance, since it is in charge of voluntary movement. Any of the conditions mentioned can be caused by the highly reactive oxygen species in alcohol, which are also symptoms connected to FASD.
FASD applies to health care because it is important for physicians to be able to identify this condition without needing the mother to admit that she has consumed alcohol while pregnant. Because the symptoms that are associated with this disorder are not easily recognized until someone reaches adolescence, it is difficult to treat any of the problems earlier in the patient’s life. However, if someone is diagnosed with FASD earlier, it can lessen the severity of the condition, which will benefit the patient later in life. Therefore, if technology progresses soon in a way that will help with this problem, it will benefit any child that has gone through prenatal alcohol exposure. It will also be especially useful for people who have lost their mothers or contact with them, such as orphans. In addition to that, mothers may feel too guilty to admit that they have consumed alcohol during their pregnancy since it is looked down upon by society. Therefore, another way that FASD can be handled earlier is by having physicians make parents feel comfortable about talking about whether or not they have introduced alcohol to their child’s life when they were young or not.
It is also critical for expecting mothers to understand the effects of alcohol and what it can do it their offspring. In order to prevent FASD from becoming a more common, conditions like this should be implemented into people’s education. Once FASD is continuously talked about, hopefully people will become more aware of how dangerous it can be and how much it can affect theirs and their children's lives. Bringing in the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure into health classes in high school can help mothers of the future understand that they should not consume alcohol to prevent such a harmful condition. This idea can also allow students to inform their own friends or family, which will further the avoidance of the increase of people diagnosed with FASD.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are a group of problems that could simply be dodged with one’s self control. It is a condition that affects many parts of the body, but with early detection, an excessive amount of the abnormalities can be reduced. Hopefully there is a future is filled with educating the world about the effects of alcohol along with technology that is able to distinguish when one is facing FASD.
Works Cited
'Pregnancy and Childbirth', 2016, Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, p. 1p. 1, Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, EBSCOhost, viewed 2 November 2017.
Wilhoit, L, Scott, D, & Simecka, B, 2017, 'Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Characteristics, Complications, and Treatment', Community Mental Health Journal, 53, 6, pp. 711-718, CINAHL, EBSCOhost, viewed 2 November 2017.
Nofas.org., 2017, National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – Recognizing FASD, viewed on 2 Nov. 2017, from: https://www.nofas.org/recognizing-fasd/.
Warren, K., Hewitt, B. and Thomas, J., 2017, Alcohol Research & Health, Volume 34, Number 1, viewed on 2 Nov. 2017, from: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh341/4-14.htm.