FASD - The Course

Organ and Skeletal Damage

Prenatal alcohol exposure can lead to growth deficiencies such as:

• Low birth weight


• Failure to gain weight over time, not due to malnutrition


• Disproportionately low weight to height


• Low length/height or weight in first year of life, especially below the 10th percentile
  
  
  

The skeletal system and organs may also be affected:

• Skeletal abnormalities


• Heart defects


• Craniofacial anomalies


• Kidney and other internal organ problems


• Respiratory dysfunction


• Vision and hearing problems^11,14-18

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Skeletal Abnormalities

• Underdeveloped nails


• Shortened fifth digits


• Fused bones in forearms, fingers, toes, hands


• Bent fingers


• Permanent bending of one or more finger joints


• Sunken chest or protrusion of the chest over the sternum


• Fusion of any two neck vertebrae


• Failure of one side of a vertebra to form normally


• Curvature of the spine

Heart Defects

• Atrial septal defect (failure of the wall between the right and left atria to close completely)


• Ventricular septal defect (a hole in the wall between the lower chambers)


• Abnormal great vessels


• Tetralogy of Fallot, a group of four heart defects involving the ventricles and arteries

Vision and Hearing Problems

• Misalignment of the eyes


• Retinal vessel anomalies


• Lens flaws


• Cornea deformities


• Refractive problems


• Hearing loss


• Auditory processing problems