Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

LydiaGreen · Oct 25, 2004

Not in nursing. I did have a friend who had two foster children with fetal alcohol syndrome. What information are you looking for specifically?

Farkinott, RN · Oct 25, 2004

Yes I have come across quite a few but why don't you try a google search?

Kaylesh · Oct 25, 2004

Hey guys i'm new here and i was wondering if anyone had ever seen or come across a case of fetsl alcohol syndrome?

Yep I've come across fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Many years ago before i became a nurse i was a teacher and we had a preschooler who was 3 years old and had it. Not come across it as a RN as i work primarily with adults.

Kaylesh

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 25, 2004

Yes as a labor and delivery nurse, sadly I have. It's never good and the effects are lifelong. I have actually seen these babies do much more poorly than those exposed to many other substances. It's tragic and very widespread.

allnurses Guide · Oct 25, 2004

Yes, my own nephew. And a few times at work. Sad and completely preventable.

steph

KRVRN, BSN, RN · Oct 26, 2004

Deb--

So what does a newborn with FAS look and act like? Can you recognize it right off?

LydiaGreen · Oct 26, 2004

Try a google search - there are hundreds of reputable sites with lots of information on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect. Many have diagrams showing each of the possible identifying characteristics.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Oct 26, 2004

Over the years I've seen dozens of kids with FASD. A coworker has adopted two boys with it. I'm also on the board of a private school that has a separate program just for kids with FASD. Each year we get at least three or four new clients. We're up to about 26 now, and the program has only been in existence for three years.

Newborns with FASD may be very irritable. They often are SGA. They may have microcephaly, a flattened nasal bridge, hypertelorism, thin vermillion upper lip, shallow or absent philtrum, and micrognathia. The nails on their baby fingers are proportionally smaller than those on their other fingers, and the distal phalanx on the baby finger is also proportionally shorter. Toddlers and older children have profound cognitive impairment; they are very distractable, they don't understand cause and effect, they don't understand consequences and they have very limited short term memory. They are often very small for their age. Teenagers often are involved in criminal activity, likely because they just don't understand that what they're doing is wrong. In some jurisdictions, a high number of inmates in federal prisons are victims of FASD.

As previous posters have said, there are some really good sites that you can have a look at.