the mother. The extend to which a fetus is damaged by exposure to alcohol depends on which stage of pregnancy the mother consumed the alcohol in, as well as on how much she consumed (Bowden, 1985). A study conducted on pregnant animals that were fed alcohol, led researchers to conclude that major physical defects in the human embryo can be caused by exposures to alcohol in the first trimester, that is the first three months of pregnancy. Brain damage, on the other hand, can result from exposures at any time during the pregnancy (Brown, 1992). Researchers know that the more alcohol the mother drinks and the longer the fetus is exposed to its toxic effects, the more severe the childs birth defects will be. Moreover, binge drinking or heavy alcohol consumption at one sitting, is particularly hazardous to the fetus, because very high levels of alcohol enter the mothers blood stream and the alcohol is passed into the blood of the fetus through the placenta (Bowden, 1985).Furthermore, a rare but severe expression of damage to the fetus by means of alcohol consumption is known as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). This disorder includes mild to severe mental and physical damage. FAS affects approximately 1 to 3 of every 1000 live births world wide, and is the leading known cause of mental retardation in the Western world. French researchers at the University of Nantes in 1968 were the first to make a connection between maternal use of alcohol during pregnancy and birth defects in children. Children with FAS are small in size and weight at birth and have slow growth rates throughout their entire development. A child with FAS has characteristic facial features that may include short eyelids, a flattened midface, a smooth and elongated space between the nose and the mouth, and a narrow upper lip. Specifically, these children show evidence of damage to the central nervous system that may be in the form of mental retardation, learning ...
