25.2 the impact of prenatal exposure to alcohol on childhood development: an under-recognized developmental disability

Prenatal alcohol has long been recognized as having the potential to adversely affect fetal brain development. Alcohol consumption in women of reproductive age and in the first few weeks of an unplanned pregnancy is common. Although some children affected by alcohol exhibit characteristic minor facial anomalies, growth deficiency, and microcephaly (fetal alcohol syndrome), most children affected by alcohol have few or none of these physical features (fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, or FASD). The neurobehavioral abnormalities in FASD can include deficits in cognitive performance, executive functioning, attention, memory, and adaptive functioning.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research