FASD stands for "Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder."
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
(FASD) is the term for negative effects on an unborn child (fetus) that can happen when a pregnant woman drinks alcohol.
What kinds of negative effects can drinking cause?
The negative effects can be physical, affecting how the child looks:
- Smaller than other children the same age
- Face and head that look different than most people's, in specific ways (small head and eyes, short nose, thin upper lip, small or missing groove between upper lip and nose)
The negative effects can be mental, affecting how the child thinks and learns:
- Small or malformed brain
- Low IQ
- Language delays (not speaking or understanding as well as other children can)
The negative effects can be social, affecting how the child behaves:
- Hyperactivity (can't sit still)
- Can't remember rules, can't learn from punishments or mistakes
"Spectrum" means that some people with FASD have many of these effects, and other people only have a few. Alcohol affects different people in different ways. The most serious kind of FASD - with the most negative effects - is called "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome" or FAS.
Children who are born with FASD will always have it. There is no cure.
If a woman is pregnant, there is no amount of alcohol that is safe for her to drink. There is one sure way to prevent FASD: If you are pregnant, do not drink alcohol!
The information on this page was adapted from:
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