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Article: Fetal alcohol syndrome: an undiluted danger.(Special Needs: Realizing Potential)
- Article from:
- Pediatric News
- Article date:
- August 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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For a pregnant woman, drinking alcohol can produce a spectrum of effects on the fetus, ranging from full-blown fetal alcohol syndrome to mild behavioral and cognitive delays. This clinical spectrum of findings related to alcohol exposure has resulted in the broad current term, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the leading preventable and identifiable cause of mental retardation in the United States. FAS rates range from 0.2 to 1.5 per 1,000 live births in the United States, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are believed to occur approximately three times as often as FAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and ...