International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Alcohol

The 9th of September is Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Awareness Day to raise awareness of the importance of an alcohol-free pregnancy. Countries, states, provinces, and municipalities all over the globe issue proclamations against drinking during pregnancy. Since there is no known safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, the entire community must support alcohol-free pregnancies. Alcohol can result in lifelong physical, behavioural, and neurological problems in children. Celebrate International Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day with us as we bring attention to this crucial issue.

The background of International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day

From the 1960s to the 1980s, alcohol was commonly used to stop or relax uterine contractions and prevent preterm labour. The method devised by Dr. Fritz Fuchs involved the administration of a small measure of alcohol to pregnant women. However, because the alcohol was administered intravenously, the expectant woman could still receive the treatment and become intoxicated even after passing out.

Before two physicians raised the alarm, the deleterious effect of this form of treatment was unknown. In 1973, the University of Washington Medical School’s Drs. Kenneth Lyons Jones and David Weyhe Smith coined the term Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. In eight unrelated children born to alcoholic mothers, they identified a pattern of skull, facial, limb, and cardiac defects linked to prenatal growth deficiency and developmental delay.

Due to the fact that the adverse effects of alcohol exposure depend on the timing and quantity of alcohol consumed during pregnancy, foetal alcohol characteristics vary from child to child. This presents a challenge for diagnosticians, as the lack of observable symptoms means that it is frequently undiagnosed. Nonetheless, individuals with F.A.S.D. typically exhibit memory issues, sluggish thought processes, and hyperactive behaviour.

On September 9, 1999, the first International Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day was observed. Bonnie Buxton and Brian Philcox, parents of foetal alcohol children, along with Teresa Kellerman, director of the FAS Community Resource Centre in Arizona, conceived of this day. September 9 was chosen so that on the ninth day of the ninth month of the year, the world will remember that women should desist from alcohol during the nine months of pregnancy.

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5 FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ALCOHOL

One in eight women, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, consumes four or more intoxicating beverages at a time.

All alcoholic beverages, regardless of their alcohol content, are detrimental to pregnant women.

Alcohol consumption is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disorders in the U.S.

Specialists such as developmental paediatricians, child psychologists, and clinical geneticists assist in the diagnosis and treatment of F.A.S.D. in children.

Australia has F.A.S.D. advice cards that fit in a wallet. If their children experience sensory excess in public, parents and guardians distribute these to bystanders.

INTERNATIONAL FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS AWARENESS DAY DATES