Alcohol, Pregnancy Don’t Mix

Author:    Theresa Bakker
Article ID: 2581668
Date: December 7, 2004
Publication: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (AK)

Vicky Horodyski's 18-year-old adopted daughter, Teena, has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. That means she'll never be fully independent. She's always going to need supervision and monitoring. Horodyski said that's very frustrating for Teena."We have lots of discussions round the dinner table about hating this disorder. We also have lots of discussions about, 'Why did my mom have to drink?' I just say, 'I don't think she knew. She didn't do it to hurt you.'

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy destroys developing cells in the fetus, causing permanent brain damage. People with FASD may present a wide range of disabilities from developmental delays to mental retardation. It's also accompanied by facial anomalies like short noses and thin upper lips.

Ruth Prokopowich is the FASD community services coordinator at the Resource Center for Parents and Children. She facilitates the Fairbanks Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Team Advisory Board, which supports parents and advocates for appropriate services.

She said prevention is their first concern. The message is that drinking during pregnancy is dangerous, but Prokopowich said the hardest population to educate has been the medical community.

"There are still doctors who tell their patients it's OK to drink," she said. "One of the theories is that they don't see the children who are affected by this birth defect. Or maybe they haven't seen studies they think are conclusive.

"That's why there are these mixed messages, but FASD is 100 percent preventable. The way you do that is to have absolutely no alcohol while you're pregnant."

The diagnostic team in Fairbanks offers an evaluation from a range of experts. Patients see a pediatrician, an occupational therapist and a psychologist who agree on an assessment.

Horodyski said getting a diagnosis of FASD for Teena was a relief.

"When we got the FAS diagnosis, we thought this really explains it," she said. "But then it hit us that she would never outgrow it. There was some grieving. Then we just started taking every class and training we could get our hands on."

Prokopowich said many children with FASD are improperly diagnosed and treated inappropriately. They may be assessed with mental-health issues or developmental disabilities, conditions with similar symptoms. An early and correct diagnosis of FASD is a factor for success later in life.

"There aren't treatments for this condition because your brain is never going to change, but you can be taught differently," Prokopowich said. "You want to be diagnosed because it means seeing where the person's strengths are and what their weaknesses are. What a lot of the families say is that there was a misunderstanding in motives before the children were diagnosed."

The diagnostic team is limited to working with children up to the age of 15 because there aren't enough resources to handle any more cases.

The federal grant for the state's Office of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ends this fiscal year. Horodyski said the governor has proposed funding, but that doesn't mean it will be included in the final budget.

"We need FAS to be recognized as a developmental disability," she said.

It's a daunting challenge, but Prokopowich said the system is getting much better.

"When people first started looking at this issue, they were hopeless. But then you look at people who are doing well with early diagnosis and appropriate support. It's just like in any family: Some children will be successful and some won't."

Theresa Bakker hosts "Evening Rounds" Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on KUAC-FM 89.9. Send her an e-mail at theresa.bakker@kuac.org .