Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

     Mothers who drink while pregnant cause their babies to be born with fetal alcohol syndrome.  Facial abnormalities, hyperactivity, varying degrees of mental retardation, impulsiveness, motor problems, difficulty maintain attention, and heart defects are some of the symptoms babies might have. Fetal alcohol syndrome is not only caused by alcohol consumed during pregnancy but also being exposed to prenatal alcohol show impairments in language, memory attention, and learning. When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol it easily passes across the placenta to the fetus which harms the baby's development by altering the migration pattern of small neurons. The release of glutamate, the brain's main excitatory transmitter, is suppressed by alcohol and enhances activity of GABA, the main inhibitory transmitter; because of this many neurons receive less excitation and neurotrophina than normal and they undergo apoptosis.  During pregnancy there is no safe level of alcohol consumption for women. If a woman consumes large amounts of alcohol the problems increase tremendously, especially if alcohol is consumed during the first three months of pregnancy because alcohol appears to be more harmful then. In order to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome is for women not to drink any alcohol during their pregnancy. Many complications can be caused to a baby's development because of the unwise decision of consuming alcohol during pregnancy. A mother should always have in mind the health of their child when thinking of drinking just one small glass of wine, because the consequences can be devastating. If a pregnant woman is dealing with alcoholism they can join an alcohol abuse rehabilitation program to help them out throughout their pregnancy.