Controlling Idea: Because fetal alcohol syndrome may cause
brain damage and learning disabilities in infants, women should be made aware that drinking alcohol during pregnancy may endanger the life of their child.
A. Definition of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
II. Physical and Mental Effects of the Syndrome
B. Potential for Learning Disabilities
III. Specific Learning Disabilities Caused by the Syndrome
A. Motor Dysfunction Related Problems
B. Speech and Hearing Related Difficulties
A. Effects of Drinking Throughout Pregnancy
B. Effects of Stopping Drinking in Pregnancy
C. Small Amounts of Alcohol May Not Affect Fetus
A. Women Must Be Made Aware of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
B. Public Education May Help the Problem
FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME & INFANT LEARNING DISABILITIES
Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition which occurs in infants whose mothers abuse alcohol during pregnancy. This problem has gathered the increasing attention of the medical establishment in recent years. Although it is difficult to properly diagnose in the newborn infant, studies have shown that fetal alcohol syndrome results in a number of mental and physical symptoms, such as below normal birth weight, length, and I.Q. Children born with the syndrome are also found to have a number of learning disabilities. Some of these disabilities are related to nursing, and thus they can seriously affect the life and health of the newborn, and may cause nutritional problems which will in turn affect the child's later developmental skills. Because fetal alcohol syndrome has been found to cause brain damage and learning disabilities in infants, along with a host of other difficulties, women should be made aware that drinking alcohol during pregnancy may endanger the life of their child.
Recent studies have indicated that as many as two percent of all babies born today are afflicted with the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome (Miller,...