Preventative
Why is it important for me to know about prenatal alcohol exposure?
FAS/ARND is 100% Preventable
Although more people are becoming familiar with the dangers associated with drinking during pregnancy, there are still misunderstandings about when it is okay to drink or how much to drink, and some woman are not able to stop drinking even when they know it could harm their child. Women who drink alcohol socially or who have alcoholism may drink before they realize they are pregnant. To make it all a little more confusing, some doctors still advise women that a drink every now and then can’t harm their unborn child.
The Surgeon General and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that there is no known safe amount of alcohol or safe time to drink during pregnancy. To avoid any risk of harming the child, woman should not drink at all during pregnancy.
Another common error is the belief that beer, wine, and wine coolers are not as harmful as hard liquor. This is not true since a 12 ounce can of beer, a 4 ounce glass of wine and a shot of hard liquor all have the same amount of pure alcohol. When pregnant, the best drink to have is no drink at all. One of the main risk factors for women having children with FAS is her own attitude toward alcohol use. It is important for a woman to understand that her attitude about alcohol can determine her behavior and whether or not she decides to drink.
Because of mixed or unclear messages, some women have not been able to make fully informed choices about the true dangers of drinking during pregnancy. For this reason, it is important to keep the following points in mind, and to let others know about the dangers associated with drinking during pregnancy.
To prevent FAS/ARND:
- Women planning a pregnancy should stop drinking alcohol before attempting to conceive and should not drink during their pregnancy or while nursing.
- Women who drink and have unplanned pregnancies should quit drinking as soon as they suspect they are pregnant.
- Women who are sexually active and not using effective contraception should not drink alcohol as they could be pregnant and not know it.
- Heavy drinkers should avoid getting pregnant until they are able to stop drinking alcohol for the nine months from conception to birth.
Certain individuals may have a high-risk lifestyle that increases their chances of having children with FAS/ARND. The best time to help individuals realize this is before the pregnancy begins. Women and their partners can look at their own drinking behavior and ask themselves questions such as:
- Has anyone in my family had a drinking problem?
- Do I believe that getting drunk is just a normal part of growing up?
- Do one or more of my friends drink heavily?
- Do I sometimes drink to prepare myself for emotionally difficult situations?
- Do I sometimes get drunk to celebrate special occasions?
- Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning?
- In the past three months have you had 2 or more standard drinks (12 oz can of beer, 1 ½ oz shot of liquor, 5 oz glass of wine) 4 or more days per week?
- In the past three months have you had 4 or more drinks in one day?
Those who answer yes to two or more of these questions should consider how their drinking can impact their unborn child, and should seriously consider this if they are sexually active. It’s important to remind women that FAS/ARND is 100% preventable and to be cautious of their drinking habits when they decide to get pregnant or find out that they are pregnant. A pregnant woman never drinks alone. Everything she drinks, her baby also drinks. A woman must ask herself, “Why take the chance?”
The bottom line is:
Are you willing and able to abstain from alcohol for the nine months of pregnancy?
Factors that Reduce Secondary Disability
A Child will never out grow FAS/ARND. The damage to the brain of a person with FAS/ARND is called static encephalopathy. “Static” means that the damage is unchanging. It will get no better or no worse. “Encephalopathy” refers to the damage to the brain.
BUT THERE IS HOPE!
Ann Streissguth, Ph.D. of the University of Washington, a pioneer and recognized authority in the field of FAS, completed a study in 1996 identifying secondary disabilities. Dr. Streissguth identified factors that decreased incidence or reduced the effect of the secondary disabilities. These factors include:
- Living in a stable and nurturant home for over 72% of life
- Being diagnosed before the age of 6
- Never having experienced violence against oneself
- Staying in each living situation for an average of more than 2.8 years.
- Experiencing a good quality home from ages 8-12 years
- Applied for and eligible for services for the developmentally disabled
- Having a diagnosis of FAS rather than ARND
- Having basic needs met for at least 13% of life
Children with FAS/ARND can and do learn. They just learn differently. The most important first step is to get a diagnosis. While FAS and ARND are lifelong disabilities, in other words, they cannot be cured, proper supports can be put into place to help the child improve their ability to function and to possibly compensate for some of the connections in the brain that were lost. With early and ongoing support and services, children with FAS/ARND are less likely to develop these secondary disabilities.