CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROM

Fetal alcohol syndrome is the No. 1 cause of mental retardation in the United States today, according to one of the nation's top experts on FAS.

"That's good and bad," said Dr. Kenneth L. Jones, one of the researchers who helped identify the birth defect seen in children of women who drink alcohol during pregnancy.

Jones will speak on birth defects with an emphasis on FAS at a conference to be held throughout the day today at Drury Lodge.

"It's good because this is a completely preventable health problem," he said. If a woman doesn't drink during pregnancy, her baby can't have FAS. "It's bad because it means women are not getting the message about alcohol," said Jones, a professor of pediatrics at the University of San Diego School of Medicine.

It is hoped that those who attend today's conference for health-care professionals, sponsored by Bootheel Healthy Start, will get the word out that there is no safe level when it comes to drinking alcohol when you are pregnant, said Janine Jepson, education and training manager at Bootheel Healthy Start, a federally funded program to reduce infant death and birth defects.

Professionals attending the conference include doctors, nurses, child birth educators and social workers.

Alcohol is a teratogen, an agent or chemical that can affect an embryo or fetus.

"Alcohol is one of the most avoidable teratogens, but it's also one of the most potent," said Dr. Stephen Braddock, assistant professor of child health at the University of Missouri at Columbia and director of the Missouri Teratogen Information Service. He will also speak at today's conference.

When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, the alcohol in the mother's bloodstream passes through to the fetus and can cause mental retardation and growth and behavior problems, all part of fetal alcohol syndrome, a birth defect first recognized in 1973.

"Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most common preventable form of mental retardation," Braddock said.

FAS affects one in every 500 babies and costs the U.S. economy about $2.7 billion annually, Braddock said.

"The big key is this is completely preventable," Braddock said. "You can't have fetal alcohol syndrome if you don't expose the fetus to alcohol during pregnancy," Braddock said. He added nursing mothers also should not drink alcohol because alcohol can be passed to an infant through the mother's milk.

Health-care professionals attending the conference also will get information on the importance of early identification of fetal alcohol syndrome.

The characteristics that would alert a health professional that a child has FAS are often subtle, and it can be a difficult to diagnose newborns, Braddock said.

Characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome include growth deficiency; central nervous system involvement, including seizures, mental retardation, learning disabilities and behavioral problems; and distinguishing facial features, including widely spaced eyes, droopy eye lids, small upturned nose, thin upper lip and flat face.

"Fetal alcohol syndrome is not an infection. There is no medicine that will make it go away" Braddock said. "But if you can identify those who have it early, you can start developmental intervention and counseling to give them the optimum chance to reach their potential."

A diagnosis of FAS is often made after a child has had problems at school, Braddock said.

"Kids with fetal alcohol syndrome don't stand out, so poor school performance and failures at school may be passed off for other reasons," Braddock said. These children may be labeled lazy or trouble makers. Failures and frustrations at school can lead to dropping out and trouble with jobs or with the law, Braddock said.

Therapeutic programs can help avoid these later-stage problems associated with the disease, he said.

"Another benefit of recognizing fetal alcohol syndrome early," Jones said, "is to talk to the mother to try to keep her from having another baby with the same problem."