Fall 2000 Table of Contents
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What is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?

Reprinted with permission from the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS)website http://www.nofas.org/what.htm

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) refer to a group of physical and mental birth defects resulting from a woman's drinking alcohol during pregnancy. FAS is the leading known cause of mental retardation. Other symptoms can include organ dysfunction, growth deficiencies before and after birth, central nervous dysfunction resulting in learning disabilities and lower IQ, and physical malformities in the face and cranial areas. In addition, children may experience behavioral and mental problems, which progress into adulthood.

FAE is a lesser set of the same symptoms, which make up FAS. Babies affected by alcohol can have any or all of these symptoms. FAS and FAE are widely under-diagnosed. Some experts believe that between 1/3 and 2/3 of all special education children have been irreversibly affected by alcohol in some way.
No amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy is known to be safe.
FAS is the leading known cause of mental retardation, surpassing both Spina Bifida and Down's Syndrome. (Journal of the American Medical Association, 1991)
At least one of every five pregnant women uses alcohol and/or other drugs. (Substance Abuse and the American Woman, Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia University, June 5, 1996)
Alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus when compared to other drugs including heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Annual cost estimates for FAS and related conditions in the United States range from $75 million to $9.7 billion. (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment, Institute of Medicine, 1996)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a sixfold increase in the percentage of babies born with FAS over the past fifteen years. Since the Centers began tracking FAS, the rate has increased from 1 case per 10,000 live births in 1979 to 6.7 cases per 10,000 live births in 1993. (The New York Times, April 7, 1995)
Over three times as many women used alcohol during pregnancy than used illegal drugs. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1994)
Each year more than 5,000 are born with FAS and nearly 50,000 babies are born with Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), a condition characterized by symptoms similar to but less severe than FAS. (Public Health Education Information Sheet, March of Dimes, 1992)
Fewer that 57% of Americans under the age of 45 have even heard of FAS. Of those, less than 25% can correctly identify it as a set of birth defects while the rest think it means being born intoxicated or addicted to alcohol. (National Health Interview Survey, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1985)
An average of one to two reported drinks per day has been linked to decreased birth-weight, growth abnormalities and behavioral problems. (Alcohol Problems in Women, 1984)
The probability of having a child with FAS increases with the amount and frequency of alcohol consumed. Whenever a pregnant woman stops drinking, she reduces the risk of having a baby with FAS. (Alcohol Health and Research World, The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1995)
The latest estimate for the U.S. is a rate of 19.5 per 10,000 live births, although estimates run as high as 30 per 10,000 - about 12,000 babies a year. (Substance Abuse and the American Woman, Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia University, June 5, 1996)
A 100% misdiagnosis rate was reported in a Houston hospital study of 48 newborns known to have alcoholic mothers. By age one, 6 of the infants had significant signs of FAS but none had been diagnosed at birth. (Little, Bertis, Snell, Laura, 1990)
A federally funded study in four U.S. Southern communities found that only 65% of women were asked by a physician or nurse about alcohol or drug use during their most recent pregnancy. Further, although most of the women who were asked acknowledged substance abuse, only 3% were referred to treatment. (Shelly Geshan, Southern Regional Project on Infant Mortality, 1993)
A national panel convened by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation found that most doctors do not even try to identify problems by asking patients questions about alcohol and drug habits, and do not know how to respond if they do find evidence of dependency. The panel called for an increase in mandatory training on substance abuse for medical residents as the first step toward improving treatment. (The New York Times, February 14, 1996)
A National Center for Health Statistics study found that doctors appear less likely to tell black women to quit drinking and smoking during pregnancy than they are to tell white women. Pregnant black women were 30% more likely than white women to report that they had never been told to quit drinking, and 20% more likely to report that they had not been told to quit smoking. (The New York Times, January 19, 1994)

see Clarifying a Point about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome for information about Fetal Alcohol Effect.

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