Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Changing the Future- Developmental Psychology

After watching the movie on Fetal Alcohol Exposure, I was astonished at how much damage drinking alcohol can cause when pregnant, both to the mother and the child. I have always been against drinking and smoking, but especially when it involved a fetus inside of you; however, until this movie I never knew how drastic the consequences can be to your baby! I do not think when mothers drink through their pregnancy they realize within minutes upon doing so her fetus has the same blood alcohol level as she does. It not only cleared up questions and the curiosity I had about drinking and pregnancy, but it confirmed my worst fears for the mother’s child. Believe it or not, statistically one in every 100 children are born with FASD and are affected by it for life.

I have to say out of all the assignments we have critiqued throughout this year in Psychology, this one was not only the most intriguing, but also the most devastating. For years I have frowned upon mothers who smoke and drink while being pregnant, but I never knew the drinking consequences were just as severe as the smoking consequences. I didn’t know what Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD) was nor never heard of it before. There are many facts that have stuck with me in my head such as it is the leading cause of mental retardation, it affects the child and their abilities for the rest of their life, and alcohol and wine is just as damaging to the fetus as crack cocaine is! I also did not know it contributed to low birth rate babies, I always thought that was due to prematurity. There is one aspect involved in FASD that I am happy about, and that is the Government not letting the mother have custody of her baby until she has been treated correctly. I understand that would be very hard and harsh for the mother to have the baby taken away after giving labor, but I think it is the most effective and appropriate decision for a mom to realize the severity of her...