disease has been observer as well in several FAS cases (Rossett and Weiner 70). Children with FAS may also be more susceptible to life threatening bacterial infections as well a minor infectious diseases...Small bones in the base of the skull may cause morphologic problems of the nasal sinuses which predispose them to obstruction and infection (Rosett and Weiner 71-71). Alcohol, like other teratogenic agents, is associated with a spectrum of malformations related to dose and timing. The multiplicity of effects suggests that alcohol can alter development throughout gestation (Rosett and Weiner 65). Therefore because it is not known when in fetal development when alcohol causes neurological and physical defects no amount of alcohol is safe. The best way to prevent FAS is by abstaining from the use of alcohol products. This sounds so simple, but for many women it is not. Usually infants born to mothers who are alcoholics have little to no prenatal care. With no prenatal care a mother who consumes alcohol is not warned or told of the dangers of drinking. A lot of these children end up in foster care being shuttled back and forth between families, due to the behavioral and physical problems FAS and FAE does not discriminate against race, creed or color. Studies have shown, In the United states one in 500 children is diagnosed with FAS and one in 300 children is diagnosed with FAE. On the Indian reservation the numbers are much more staggering. They are one in 99 FAS children born (McCuen 59) FAS is 30 times more commonly reported in Native Americans than it is in whites, and six times more common in blacks (McCuen 55). It is estimated that nearly 40% of all Native American women meet the criteria for alcohol dependency (McCuen 46). That would explain why they are 30 times more likely to have a child with FAS or FAE. If something is not done immediately there will be an explosion of FAS or FAE children in the Native America...
