Prenatal alcohol exposure is the single leading preventable cause of neuro-developmental disorders (Zagorski, 2015). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a blanket term for a number of effects that can occur in an individual who was exposed to alcohol in-utero. FASD affects about 40,000 infants each year (National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, 2014). The consequences may be physical, mental, behavioral, and/or cognitive, and have lifelong implications. The diagnosed conditions associated with prenatal alcohol exposure are fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), partial fetal alcohol syndrome (PFAS), neurobehavioral disorder associated with prenatal alcohol exposure (ND-PAE), and alcohol related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND).
FAS alone costs the U.S. about $5.4 billion annually. This in only one portion of the total societal cost of all the conditions of FASD. There is no cure, but FASD is 100% preventable when pregnant women abstain from drinking alcohol.
For our newsletter and blog this month we are discussing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The blog topics for this month are:
- What is FASD (6/5/15)
- FASD: Who is at risk? (6/12/15)
- What are the effects of FASD? (6/19/15)
- FASD: Legal Implications (6/26/15)
Note: To see all posts in this topic, click here
