Nursery World - No safe limit

Children are suffering from a completely preventable disability. Jackie Cosh looks at what educating parents could do Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a neuro-developmental disorder caused by the mother's use of alcohol in pregnancy. It is thought to have a prevalence of around one in 1,000 (by comparison, the prevalence of Down's Syndrome is one in 600), and is the largest preventable cause of intellectual disability in the world.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a neuro-developmental disorder caused by the mother's use of alcohol in pregnancy. It is thought to have a prevalence of around one in 1,000 (by comparison, the prevalence of Down's Syndrome is one in 600), and is the largest preventable cause of intellectual disability in the world.

While at the more serious end of the scale, those whose children are affected include women who are alcoholics and binge drinkers, risks are also being taken by women who drink even a moderate amount of alcohol while pregnant. There is increasing evidence that low doses of alcohol may cause damage to the foetus.

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