FASD News - 21/2021

The Sun - I thought I was hanging after a night on the tiles – it turns out I was having a surprise baby, I’d spent months boozing
A MUM who thought she was hungover after a night out downing vodka was stunned to discover she was pregnant - and in labour.
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Healthline - Your Guide to Resources for Children with Developmental Disabilities
Children with developmental differences often need extra services to support their physical health and mental well-being. But researching and connecting with specialists and other service providers can sometimes feel like a full-time job for parents and caregivers.
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The Fostering Network (UK) - Understanding FASD
Is the young person in your care showing extreme, unpredictable or unexplained behaviours, sudden outbursts and issues around development or learning? Is it possible they were exposed to alcohol in the womb?
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CanFASD Blog (Canada) - Embraced: The Quest to Make a Film
When our son was twelve, he exploded with a vengeance. Without warning, amidst a crowded outdoor concession stand, he power-kicked a soccer ball directly into his sister’s head. So I loaded him into a van for a road trip to explore, “why the anger?” Every few seconds he said something chilling, then contradicted it in the next sentence. I remained silent except to state, “I’m sorry” or “are you hungry?”.
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Review of Optometry - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Responsible for Vision Problems
Exposure to prenatal alcohol can result in a number of functional impairments, including ophthalmological abnormalities such as ptosis, refractive errors, strabismus, subnormal visual acuity and optic nerve hypoplasia. In those diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), such ophthalmic abnormalities often result in visual perception problems (VPPs).
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ABC News (Australia) - Telethon Kids Institute helping WA Police reframe interactions with people with neurological impairments
A leading child health researcher is helping police officers in regional Western Australia have safer interactions with people who have neurological conditions such as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
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Birthing for Life - Can You Drink Wine While Pregnant? Here’s Why NOT
Any amount of alcohol intake during pregnancy leads to intrauterine fetal exposure and can cause a wide range of deficits known as Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. For this reason, the global recommendation among medical groups is for pregnant women to avoid any type of alcohol consumption, including beer, wine and spirits.
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Parents 1st UK (UK) - Avoiding alcohol during pregnancy – share your tips and ideas
Pregnancy is a life changing event, and this may affect our close relationships, especially if parents are feeling overwhelmed. Most of us are tempted to have 'just the one' drink when we’re feeling stressed.
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VIDEOS and MATERIALS
FASD Hub Australia - Meet Dr Hayley Passmore: Reframe Training
After the Banksia Hill Project uncovered high rates of FASD and severe neurodevelopmental impairments in young people in detention, researchers at the Telethon Kids Institute developed Reframe Training - a course to help professionals coming into contact with these young people understand their needs and respond appropriately.
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Charlotte Winder - People with FASD talk about FASD
Eight interviewees share their thoughts about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder with the Guelph Wellington Dufferin FASD Action Group.
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PA Care Partnership - Improving Outcomes by Modifying Approaches for Those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
This training builds on the first FASD training provided. Due to the brain damage caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, which spans the intellectual spectrum, evidence-based practices that rely on verbal interactions and reward and consequence approaches such as point, level, and privilege systems, are often not successful with them and set them up to fail.
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Spotlight on FASD - Podcast Season 3, Episode 5 - Education: Insights From The Professionals
This week we're chatting to Ailsa: teacher, FASD Education Advisor and Mum to get her insights on how educators manage neurodiverse classrooms and what she has learned from parenting and homeschooling a child with FASD.
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PA Care Partnership - Improving Outcomes by Recognizing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)
When an individual “fails” in treatment and other services, we often label the person as being non-compliant, unmotivated, or disruptive. However, their behavior may well be due to brain damage caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, which is much more common than most people suspect.
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Spotlight on FASD - Podcast Season 3, Episode 4 - Education: Things Everyone Needs To Know About FASD And Education
In this weeks episode we cover some of what we consider to be the most important things teachers and education professionals need to know about FASD in an education setting.
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The Change Starts Here Collaborative - Homeschooling + FASD
Welcome to our channel!  We are a new Collaborative working together to serve families of kids with neurodiversity.  Connect with us!
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CUPH - Interview with Dr. David Wargowski, MD @ diagnosing FASD
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FASD Hub Scotland - Factsheets – FASD
These resources will be added to regularly please check back for updates, if you can’t find what you are looking for here please feel free to call the helpline and speak to one of the FASD Advisors.
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Proof Alliance - 2021 Proof Alliance Virtual Benefit
Join us as we celebrate and highlight recent advances in our work to prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and support all impacted throughout Minnesota and beyond.
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The FASD Success Show - #066 Dr. Catherine Lebel: New INFO on FASD and the Brain
Today I am stoked to have a returning guest, Dr. Catherine Lebel. We get down to science today. But don't worry, I help make this accessible.  We are talking about a recent FASD research paper she wrote and a current study she is working on.
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Health Translations - Alcohol and pregnancy - what you need to know
This document is available in English as well as in languages other than English. Links to the English and multilingual resources can be accessed further below. To download information click on the selected language. This will take you directly to the resource.
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Blackpool Better Start (UK) - Be Your Baby’s Hero – Keep Alcohol at Zero
A new Super Babies campaign has been launched in Blackpool to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. The campaign, which features four super-babies, highlights the benefits that an un-born baby gets when it isn’t exposed to alcohol.
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RESEARCH
Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin - Review of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a preventable, lifelong disability that disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the available information on FASD among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with reference to the limitations on population-based data and evaluated programs.
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Drug and Alcohol Dependence - The frequency of severe Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in the neonatal period using data from the French hospital discharge database between 2006 and 2013
This study provides the first national estimate of neonatal diagnosis of FAS, and more broadly pFASD, in France. Although our data certainly underestimate the real prevalence of FASD, they provide a minimal estimate of the burden of alcohol use during pregnancy.
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Biological Psychiatry - Corticostriatal circuit models of cognitive impairments induced by fetal exposure to alcohol
The term Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) includes a group of diseases caused by fetal alcohol exposure (FAE). FASD patients display heterogenous socio-emotional and cognitive deficits, particularly in the domain of executive function, which share symptoms with other neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Italian Journal of Pediatrics - Sleep problems among children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)- an explorative study
The results support the clinical observation that sleep disorders appear to be an important health problem in individuals with FASD. In particular distorted sleep architecture and apneic/hypopneic events need further attention.
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The FASEB Journal - Altered Developmental Programming in a Dual Model of Maternal and Paternal Alcohol Consumption
According to the CDC, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. This definition places the fault for FASD-associated mental and physical defects exclusively on the mother.
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Child Neuropsychology - Measurement of neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal alcohol exposure in Ukrainian preschool children
To examine the potential of a nonverbal battery in early identification of cognitive problems in alcohol-exposed children, 291 prospectively identified Ukrainian children were evaluated using a test battery focusing on early executive functioning (EF) and visuospatial skills, areas of cognitive development particularly sensitive to PAE in older children.
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Behavioural Brain Research - Effects of postnatal ethanol exposure and maternal separation on mood, cognition and hippocampal arborization in adolescent rats
Ethanol exposure and early life stress during brain development are associated with an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders.
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Wellcome Open Research - Risk messages relating to fertility and pregnancy: a media content analysis
Frequent science-based risk messages in the UK media frame mothers as vectors of potential harm to children, who are the focus of health outcomes. Largely, the media does not introduce misinformation, but reports press releases faithfully with additional caveats and expert commentary.
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The FASEB Journal - Epigenetic Toxicity: Preconception Paternal Alcohol Exposure and the Programming of Offspring Birth Defects
Paternally inherited alterations in epigenetic programming are emerging as a relevant factor in numerous developmental disorders. Despite the exclusive association of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) with maternal drinking, research from our lab indicates that paternal alcohol use is a relevant factor in this debilitating condition.
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Neuronal Cell Culture - Fetal Brain Injury Models of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Examination of Neuronal Morphologic Condition Using Sholl Assay
The lack of a convenient in vitro human neuronal model to study alcohol-induced neurodegenerative diseases, such as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), prompted us to develop human neuronal culture and in vitro human FAS model by incubating cells with physiologically relevant EtOH concentration (50 mM).
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udiMundus - Substance use, mental health and dual disorders on pregnancy: results of prevalence and treatment rates in a developed country
Smoking and substance use during pregnancy are major preventable causes of mortality and morbidity, having a bidirectional and deleterious relationship with the mental health of the mother and child.
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Women's Mood Disorders - Substance Use Disorders in Pregnancy and Lactation
Women use substances and, for some, this use continues during pregnancy. It is not uncommon for women with substance use disorders to have a co-occurring mental health condition.
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The FASEB Journal - Prenatal alcohol exposure causes structural and functional cardiac defects, which can be prevented with folate supplementation
Increased regurgitant blood flow has been linked to endocardial cushion defects and resultant congenital heart diseases (CHDs). Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been shown to alter early blood flow resulting in abnormal endocardial cushions and CHDs.
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Global Pediatric Health - The Burden of Adverse Neonatal Outcome among Antenatal Substance Users in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Substances mainly khat, alcohol and cigarette are used during pregnancy in Ethiopia. However, to this date, there is no pooled evidence about the burden of adverse neonatal outcomes among the substance users during pregnancy in the country.
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Drug and Alcohol Dependence - Changes in alcohol consumption during pregnancy and over the transition towards parenthood
Further awareness of the risks associated with male-partner drinking could provide substantial public health benefits. Successful facilitation and implementation of interventions and harm reduction strategies for harmful drinking over the pre- to postnatal period could benefit from further consideration of socioeconomic status and education level, particularly for men.
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Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research - Partner influence as a factor in maternal alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms, and maternal effects on infant neurodevelopmental outcomes
Partner influence is an important contributor to prenatal alcohol use and maternal depressive symptoms, over and above the effect of SES. The significant paths from prenatal alcohol exposure to infant neurodevelopmental outcomes underscore the importance of partner influence during pregnancy.
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IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Oslo Universitetssykehus (Norway) - Nytt magasin om Føtalt Alkohol Spektrum forstyrrelser
Magasinet er rettet mot både fagpersoner og foreldre, og inneholder artikler om utredning/diagnose og hvilke tiltak som kan være til hjelp, samt intervju med foreldre til barn med FASD.
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AssoCareNews (Italy) - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): sensibilizzazione ed educazione sanitaria alla gestante
Presentiamo oggi uno studio sul tema “The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): sensibilizzazione ed educazione sanitaria alla gestante”.
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FASD Netzwerk Nordbayern e.V. (Germany) - Wanderausstellung "ZERO!"
Die ersten zehn Monate eines Babys, wie es sich entwickelt und zu einem lebensfähigen Menschen wird, sind etwas ganz Besonderes.
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