Fetal: how prevalent is it?

Enlarge this image a photograph by Kenny Goldberg above: Try doctors to determine how prevalent alcohol fetal is.

SAN DIEGO — there are few things more dangerous to the fetus than alcohol. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is one of the leading causes of birth defects.

Children who are born. with fetal abnormalities and have a physical existence of problems with learning and behavioral.

Surprisingly the doctors do not know how prevalent is the condition.

Alcohol in pregnancy is the most common cause of preventable mental retardation and birth defects.

Despite all the warnings about the problem of recent government study found that pregnant women drink in one of the 12, and approximately one in 30 binge drink.

In 1973, pediatrician Kenneth Jones and a colleague were the first to describe the fetal.

In his Office Kearny Mesa Jones examined the last 3-month Old Girl suspected of having the disorder.

Ka in the motel room. Her mother admitted to drinking during pregnancy. The child was recovered and placed in substitute care shortly after she was born.

Jones looked for some physical telltale signs of fetal. Quickly find one.

"I don't know If you are experiencing this," pediatrician told foster Mom, but has only one turns its fifth finger. Do You See? "

Jones noted another function characteristic: the space between the baby's upper lip and nose is completely flat.

Also looked certain behavioral guidelines. Irritability and sensitivity to sound over-are signs of exposure to alcohol.

After a few minutes, Jones completed the examination.

"She is clearly not doing, fetal," Jones explained. "She has some features that are in accordance with this condition."

Jones said that the first identification of fetal, it was thought that children have the full condition or all showed no effect. Is now considered exposure to alcohol causes a wide range of defects.

Jones said the doctors do not know the mildest end of the spectrum.

"So for example," Jones said, "could we be seeing children, which have already been prenatally exposed to alcohol who are completely normal from the point of view of the structural, who are completely normal in terms of growth, but the neuro-behavioral problems? And this is due to the impact of alcohol on the foetus developing? And at this point, what we are most interested in the know. "

Alcohol affects fetal brain in multiple ways.

Dr. Doris Trauner is head of the Department of paediatric neurology UCSD's.

"It causes the death of Nerve cells and is developing," said Trauner. "It also causes the nerve cells that exist, don't die, do not develop normally. So they do not develop normal connections with nervous cells to another. "

Trauner has said, a lot of damage from drinking may occur in the first quarter of the child.

This is particularly worrying, because the average time a woman finds out she is pregnant, in the United States is six weeks. Heavy drinking episodes prior to this point, you can place your child at risk.

There are no reliable estimates on the prevalence of fetal.

That is because it is difficult to diagnose.

Several women will be allowed to be drinking during their pregnancy. The majority of children affected by alcohol use have no obvious physical characteristics. And they are not typically displayed any cognitive issues until the first class.

To get a better handle provided new test will soon be started in San Diego and in three other cities in the U.S..

San Diego Unified School District and a system of foster care will screen to 3000 children to disturbances over the next five years.

UCSD Dr. Tina Chambers is heading to the test.

"If we can establish the prevalence of this disorder," said Chambers, "and is considered to be important, because we consider, we believe, is likely to be common as Autism, then that could be the real motivating factor for zdrowotn?pedagogow care providers and families, much more seriously address this problem."

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