Читать книгу Infants and Children in Context - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 152

An estimated 10% to 20% of Canadian and U.S. women report consuming alcohol during pregnancy (Alshaarawy, Breslau, & Anthony, 2016; Popova, Lange, Probst, Parunashvili, & Rehm, 2017). Alcohol abuse during pregnancy has been identified as the leading cause of developmental disabilities (Webster et al., 2018). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders refer to the continuum of effects of exposure to alcohol, which vary with the timing and amount of exposure (Hoyme et al., 2016). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are estimated to affect as many as 2% to 5% of younger schoolchildren in the United States and Western Europe (P. A. May et al., 2014, 2018). At the extreme end of the spectrum is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a cluster of defects appearing after heavy prenatal exposure to alcohol. FAS is associated with a distinct pattern of facial characteristics (such as small head circumference, short nose, small eye opening, and small midface), pre- and postnatal growth deficiencies, and deficits in intellectual development, school achievement, memory, visuospatial skills, attention, language, problem solving, motor coordination, and the combined abilities to plan, focus attention, problem solve, and use goal-directed behavior (Gupta, Gupta, & Shirasaka, 2016; Wilhoit, Scott, & Simecka, 2017). The effects of exposure to alcohol within the womb persist throughout childhood and adolescence and are associated with cognitive, learning, and behavioral problems from childhood and adolescence through adulthood (Mamluk et al., 2016; Panczakiewicz et al., 2016; Rangmar et al., 2015).

Fetal alcohol syndrome is associated with distinct facial characteristics, growth deficiencies, and deficits in physical and cognitive abilities that persist throughout childhood into adulthood.

CC BY-SA 3.0

Even moderate drinking is harmful, as children may be born displaying some but not all of the problems of FAS, termed fetal alcohol effects (Hoyme et al., 2016). Consuming 7 to 14 drinks per week during pregnancy is associated with lower birth size, growth deficits through adolescence, and deficits in attention, memory, and cognitive development (Alati et al., 2013; Flak et al., 2014; Lundsberg, Illuzzi, Belanger, Triche, & Bracken, 2015). Even less than one drink per day has been associated with poor fetal growth and preterm delivery (Mamluk et al., 2017). Sleeper effects may also occur with exposure to alcohol, as infants exposed prenatally to as little as an ounce of alcohol a day may display no obvious physical deformities at birth but later, as children, may demonstrate cognitive delays (Charness, Riley, & Sowell, 2016). Scientists have yet to determine if there is a safe level of drinking, but the only way to be certain of avoiding alcohol-related risks is to avoid alcohol during pregnancy altogether.