Addicted: Born Too Soon, Too Small

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#996699" TEXT="#080000" background="040b85a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>West Virginia Relatives as Parents Program</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="West Virginia Relatives as Parents Progr"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <B>Addicted: Born Too Soon, Too Small</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#996699" TEXT="#080000" background="04107053.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Addicted: Born Too Soon, Too Small</I></div> <div>  </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Addicted: Born Too Soon, Too Small</B></div> <div> By Laura Lou Harbert</div> <bR> <div> Last September I attended a workshop called "Addicted: Born Too Soon, Too Small."  One speaker talked about what might happen to babies if their mothers drink alcohol when they are pregnant. These children can be born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).  FAS is the most common cause of mental retardation in the United States today.  </div> <bR> <div> Some babies with FAS, but not all, may look differently than babies without FAS. Here is how they might look. The middle part of the face is flat and extra skin covers the eye making the opening look smaller.   The groove that normally runs from the bottom of the nose to the top of the lip is not there. The upper lip is thin and the mouth is small. The teeth are smaller than usual and have poor enamel coating. The ears appear to be lower than usual.  </div> <bR> <div> A FAS child can look normal, but still may have a smaller brain than a normal child.  Exposure to alcohol before birth also may stunt the growth of individual parts of the brain. Children with FAS may have behavioral, emotional, and learning problems.  They may not be able to understand and use information that they receive.  Even if they understand information at first, they may not be able to remember it for use later.  This can explain why the FAS child may learn his multiplication tables one day, but forget them the next.  The average IQ score for all people is 100; however, the average IQ score for people with FAS is about 68.  </div> <bR> <div> As the FAS child moves through school, he or she may have trouble keeping up with work and may have trouble making friends.  Other children often pick on the FAS child, and, as a result, he or she may develop poor self-esteem or depression.  He may have difficulty making friends.  He may also become involved with other children with social problems. In the early teen years, he or she may begin using drugs and alcohol.  Some become sexually active too early and others become involved in criminal activities.  </div> <div>  </div> <div> What can you do?  </div> <bR> <div> If you know a woman who is drinking when she becomes pregnant, try to persuade her to stop immediately and not drink any more while she is pregnant. This will prevent further damage to the baby's brain. </div> <div>  </div> <div> Even though there is no cure for FAS, a FAS child can receive special help with learning and behavioral problems.  It is important to identify these children and get help from a qualified health professional as soon as possible. </div> <bR> <div>  The source of all of the above information is from the Children's Research Triangle, Dr. Ira Chasnoff.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>