About Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

Key Facts on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are caused by maternal drinking alcohol in pregnancy.
• No amount of alcohol and no time in pregnancy have been established as safe for the fetus. 
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are the biggest single cause of mental disabilities in most industrialized countries, and could be totally prevented if all women abstained from alcohol in pregnancy.
• Less obvious and seemingly milder fetal alcohol damage is sometimes called Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). This term has fallen out of use and has been largely replaced by  Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND), Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (pFAS) or Static Encephalopathy. These conditions can be equally damaging to babies but are rarely diagnosed. (To keep this simple, we're going to call it all FASD.) 
• Some experts estimate that about 1% of North Americans suffer from a fetal alcohol disorder - about four times as many people as those with AIDS/HIV. There are three to five times as many people with ARND as FAS. 
• Since 1973, the medical profession has known that alcohol in pregnancy impedes fetal brain development, affecting intelligence, learning skills and behaviour. 
• Persons with FAS have distinctive physical appearance and lower IQs, but have lower crime and addiction rates than those with ARND as they get earlier diagnosis and can be better protected by society and their parents. 
• Individuals with ARND may look normal and have seemingly normal intelligence, but their damaged brains can result in learning disabilities, impulsivity, lying, stealing, tantrums, violence and aggression, inability to predict consequences or learn from experience, lack of conscience, and being highly addictive.
• Most people with ARND look perfectly normal and are never diagnosed. Research indicates that a high percentage of homeless people, and at least 25% of juvenile and adult offenders suffer from undiagnosed FASD. 
• Of individuals with ARND between the ages of 12 and 51,
  • 95% will have mental health problems;
  • 68% will have "disrupted school experience";
  • 68% will experience trouble with the law;
  • 55% will be confined in prison, drug or alcohol treatment centre or mental institution;
  • 52% will exhibit inappropriate sexual behavior
• Of individuals with ARND between 21 and 51 : 
  •  more than 50% of males and 70% of females will have alcohol and
    drug problems; 82% will not be able to live independently;
  • 70% will have problems with employment
• Some researchers estimate that each individual with FASD costs society approximately $2 million in his or her lifetime, for health problems, special education, psychotherapy and counseling, welfare, crime, and the criminal justice system.
• During their lifetimes, the individuals with FASD now alive in Canada will cost the taxpayers about $600 billion, about the same as the current national debt. In the U.S., they will cost the taxpayers about $6 trillion.

Is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Just Another "Disease of the Week?"

As there are so many worthy illnesses and disabilities, people sometimes ask why we want to single out FASD for an official day. Here are nine good reasons -- one for each month of pregnancy:

1. Fetal alcohol disorders are the largest cause of mental or intellectual disabilities in most industrial nations.[1]

2. FASD is more than a disability - it causes many of the expensive problems which plague governments, and all of us. On both a financial and personal level, we are all affected by the secondary disabilities of FAS and ARND: learning disabilities, early school drop-out, juvenile delinquency, poverty, chronic unemployment, sexual acting-out (promiscuity, early pregnancy, prostitution or sexual assault), mental illness, chronic depression leading to suicide, homelessness, violence, crimes against property, alcoholism and addiction.[2]

3. The general public, not to mention many professionals, know very little about either FASD, or the fact that no amount of alcohol in pregnancy has been established as safe for the fetus at any time.

4. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders have the largest incidence of any major birth defect. In Canada and the U.S., of 10,000 births, 3 out of 10,000 will have Muscular Dystrophy. There will be 4 with HIV infection, 4 with Cystic Fibrosis, 8 will be born with Spina Bifida, 10 with Down Syndrome. 20 will have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and another 100 will have Alcohol-related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND), which will probably never be diagnosed.[3]

5. The secondary disabilities of people with FASD are costing the taxpayers far more than any other disability. Some economists have estimated that every individual with FASD will cost the U.S. taxpayers a minimum of $1.9 million in his or her lifetime.[4]

6. FASD is totally preventable. (This point is theoretical as we acknowledge that some women struggle with depression, alcoholism illness or partner pressure and abuse.)

7. People with FASD tend to have many children, who generally also have FASD. It is not unusual for a young woman with ARND to have given birth to four or five children damaged by alcohol or drugs by the time she is 21 -- and the cycle continues.[5]

8. There is no "inclusiveness" for people with FASD. In general, our society has very little compassion for those thousands of individuals whose damaged brains lead them to crime, homelessness, and addiction. Instead, we assume that they have chosen to behave as they do. Few people realize that the severely acting-out teenager, the addicted prostitute, the homeless beggar, or the man charged with killing his girlfriend's baby may all behave as they do as the result of brain damage caused by their mothers' drinking in pregnancy. For them, there is no freedom of choice.

9. We can beat FASD, just as we have beaten other health disorders. Prevention programs and treatment programs for alcoholic women could dramatically reduce the incidence of FASD. Early diagnosis and new techniques of therapy, medical treatment, education, and residential facilities, could allow people with FASD to lead productive lives, and save our nations billions of dollars that could be diverted for other disabilities.[6]

^[6]  6. Multiply the 300,000 Canadians currently affected by FAS/E by $2,000,000 = $600 billion. Similarly, those 3 million Americans x $2 million = $6 trillion in their lifetimes.

The Sensible Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy

This guide contains two pages about Alcohol and Pregnancy: p. 7 - 8
Alcohol and Pregnancy don't mix
IMPORTANT FACTS
THERE IS NO SAFE AMOUNT OR SAFE TIME
TO DRINK ALCOHOL DURING PREGNANCY

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-gs/guide_e.html
Government of Canada
healthypregnancy.gc.ca

PDF Version (1,2 MB - 50 pages)

The Sensible Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy captures key information about certain lifestyle choices you can make to help ensure a healthy pregnancy. It also contains a handy ten-month pregnancy calendar that you can personalize to help you keep track of what week of pregnancy you are in. Each month includes interesting facts, useful information and tips on a variety of pregnancy-related topics.

You can also order a print copy of this guide by calling 1 800 O Canada, (1 800 622-6232).

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-gs/guide_f.html
Grossesse en sante
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Le guide pratique d’une grossesse en santé

 Version PDF (1,2 MB - 50 pages)

Le guide pratique d’une grossesse en santé capture les informations clés qui vous encourageront à faire des choix de modes de vie sains pour une grossesse en santé. Le guide comporte aussi un calendrier de dix mois que vous pouvez personnaliser pour vous aider à suivre l’évolution de votre grossesse.  Chaque mois comprend des faits intéressants, des renseignements utiles et des conseils sur une variété de sujets liés à la grossesse.

Vous pouvez aussi obtenir un exemplaire imprimé de ce guide en composant le
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