Fetal alcohol syndrome is a sad commentary
It’s a sad commentary on society that fetal alcohol syndrome is so prevalent drug and alcohol prevention specialists must dedicate a day to raising awareness about the danger it poses to unborn babies.
But, nevertheless, Wednesday – 9/9 – is an internationally recognized day designed to commemorate the nine months of pregnancy and explain how a woman who drinks alcohol during that time can cause catastrophic and lifelong problems for her child.
It would seem to be obvious pregnant women should not drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or take illegal drugs, but the situation has reached a breaking point in Southwestern Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the country.
According to the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance, about 1 in 100 babies are born with some form of fetal alcohol syndrome. To put that into perspective, that is about the same ratio as children born with some form of autism.
That is a staggering statistic, underscoring the recklessness of too many expectant mothers.
Of course, that number is just an estimate, since the syndrome is so difficult to diagnose, even in babies who exhibit developmental problems early in life.
Greene County Human Services Director Karen Bennett, a certified drug and alcohol therapist, noted the affliction is difficult to diagnose and can often lead to serious developmental problems that continue well into an individual’s adult life.
She gave one example of a Greene County man being cared for in Canonsburg who was just recently diagnosed with the syndrome. He has been in the care of the county for 15 years, which is costly for insurers and state taxpayers.
As prevention specialists note, this is 100 percent preventable.
“It’s an epidemic,” Jody Allen Crowe, the founder of the nonprofit group Healthy Brains for Children, told The New York Times in 2012. “The amount of prenatal exposure to alcohol is really not something people talk about because it’s such a guilt-ridden type of discussion.”
The jarring statistic of how prevalent FAS is probably won’t be a wake-up call to mothers who simply don’t care about the health and wellness of their unborn baby, but they are eye-opening to the rest of us.
The consequences are costly for society and overwhelming for those afflicted with the syndrome.