What causes fetal alcohol syndrome?
Alcohol use during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome. When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, it can cause a range of effects on the fetus * , from subtle symptoms, such as Sarah had, to full fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a grouping of similar characteristics found in affected babies. These characteristics may include low birth weight, distinctive facial features, learning problems, and mental retardation. Like most drugs, alcohol passes through the mother’s placenta * directly into the fetal bloodstream. In the fetus, alcohol slows down the central nervous system and is broken down by the immature liver of the fetus, which cannot handle this poisonous substance effectively. Alcohol stays in the fetus for a long period of time—even after it has left the mother’s body. The more the mother-to-be drinks, the greater the danger to the unborn baby. Women who have three or more alcoholic drinks a day, and women who are binge drinkers (drinking heavily but n
