FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME Every day and every hour, a baby is born. But every year, 5,000 babies are born with FAS. FAS stands for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome is caused by mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy. There is no specific amount of alcohol known to be safe during pregnancy. The best possible option is therefore not to drink any alcoholic beverages during pregnancy. Three major factors you need to know and consider when thinking about FAS are: who causes these problems, birth defects, and how to care for a baby with FAS. Many people probably think that young teenage girls are the main group of babies with FAS, but to their surprise, they are wrong. Single, college-educated women and women with incomes over $50,000 per year. "These are the results of a very recent survey of more than 100,000 women conducted by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention and published in the August 1998 issue of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology." Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a major problem in our society and is the leading known cause of mental retardation. But most people with FAS have normal IQs. Children with FAS usually have low birth weight and spend a lot of time in the hospital as babies. Symptoms that are easily noticed when observing a child with FAS are a small head and body and unsteady facial features. The non-visible but very obvious symptoms are behavioral problems, brain damage, attention deficits and obsessive/compulsive disorders. According to Nelms 2, “alcohol causes more neurological damage to the developing baby than any other substance.” Report of the Institute of Medicine to Congress. A common term related to FAS is SCREAMS. This is a way of minimizing the screaming of the parent and not the child. Children with FAS should have a daily routine with simple rules. When trying to teach a child with FAS, you must always remember to be consistent. Another problem with children with FAS is that they have little tolerance and therefore their environment must be restricted and have few details. Medications must be administered on time and in the appropriate dose to be effective. One of the main concerns for children with FAS is supervision. Children with FAS should be monitored at all times because they lack impulse control and judgment..