Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Analysis

Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a condition that can have detrimental effects to the unborn child. It has the potential to occur when a pregnant woman consumes alcohol. FAS can also be termed Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which more accurately describes the symptoms of this disorder, as they fall on a spectrum, with some individuals being affected at a far greater capacity than others. The degree to which an individual is affected is dependant upon the exposure concentration and dose of alcohol consumption to the foetus. This report will further describe the condition that is FAS, and work to discover its prevalence in New Zealand and abroad. The biological mechanisms via which alcohol affects the foetus and the proposed teratogenic

It was found that in areas where there was higher alcohol related injuries, there was no corresponding increase in the incidence of FAS, as would be expected. A possible explanation for the underreporting of this condition lies within the idea of it being a spectrum disorder. Those falling at the lower end of the spectrum, with symptoms that do not interfere with their day-to-day lives may fail to be diagnosed, resulting in an underreporting of the prevalence of this

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes significant damage to the basal ganglia in the developing child, which results in impairments to spatial memory and various other cognitive processes (Mattson & Riley, 1999). A reduction in the size of the cerebellum is also a common feature of infants with FAS. The cerebellum is an important brain structure that controls coordination and balance, as well as cognition. Individuals with FAS, due to the reduction of the cerebellum, hence have significant problems with coordination and balance, making it difficult to perform everyday tasks (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2001). Again, these effects would likely be present on a spectrum, with some individuals with FAS displaying symptoms far worse than