cs provided by the NIAAA Director as the areas of focus for future research on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome the subject of the psychological effects on mothers is noticeably absent. For example, the future topics mentioned were: (l) potential adverse effects on fetus within the spectrum of alcohol-related birth effects; (2) whether different drinking patterns pose different risks; (3) environmental and lifestyle contributors to the severity of FAS; (4) interaction of alcohol with other risk factors such as smoking; (5) risks associated with alcohol exposure during specific trimesters;
and (6) the mechanisms of alcohol induced fetal injury.
Due to the failure of research to focus on the psychological consequences of birthing an FAS child, the existing body of literature offers little to clinicians and/or relevant others such as social workers in their counseling of mothers who have given birth to such children. When one considers that out of every 4,000 live births, one child is born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (Knopf, l984), it can be seen that little is known about factors that could contribute to effective counseling concerning 3.
...