It is recommended that whilst pregnant the mother should not drink any alcohol. Every time alcohol is consumed during the pregnancy the risk on the unborn child to develop fetal alcohol syndrome is increased.

No not everyone some people may be able to drink heavily whilst pregnant and the baby will be fine whilst other may only drink a little and their baby will show signs of FAS. Alcohol should not be drunk once it is learnt you are pregnant or if you are trying for a baby.

There is a broad range of severities when it comes to fetal alcohol syndrome and sometimes there may be no physical features of the syndrome present. If you have drank whilst pregnant and you are worried about your child the best advice is to consult a doctor.

Some children born with fetal alcohol syndrome do not display all the features associated with the syndrome these terms are therefore used to describe the different combinations of symptoms a child can have.

FAE (fetal alcohol effects) is used to describe children with only 2 out of the 3 main physical symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome.

ARND and ARDD (alcohol related neurodevelopmental disabilities and alcohol related developmental disabilities) are terms used to describe disabilities and problems with the central nervous system caused by prenatal alcohol exposure.

Studies report a rate of 0.2 to 1.5 children per 1000 are born with fetal alcohol syndrome making it one of the most prevalant mental retardation disorders in new born children.

No, due to the father not being in direct contact with the growing fetus his alcohol consumption has no effect on the baby. It is currently being studied what affects alcohol has on male sperm and it is possible it may cause problems with male fertility.

As yet there is no cure for this disease that effects most parts of the child’s life although there are many ways in which the child can be helped for example with learning. The only prevention is to not drink whilst pregnant.