Abnormal facial features are the second indication that a child may have FAS. These malformations include short palpebral fissures (eye openings), a thin upper lip, and a flattened mid-face with an elongated philtrum (the groove in the upper lip). The final indicator is usually the most detrimental to the health of the affected child: CNS involvement.
Children born with FAS tend to develop a spectrum of CNS problems ranging in severity from severe mental retardation to a chronic reduction in attention span (McCuen, 1994). Problems may consist of neurological abnormalities, learning disorders, behavioral dysfunction, irritability in infancy, hyperactivity in child hood, poor coordination, and developmental delays both physically and mentally. Skull and brain malformaions and hearing problems are also common in this population. .
The list of problems associated with this disease continues. Cardiac abnormalities are found in a higher than normal percentage in this population. Some of these problems are heart murmurs (frequently disappearing by one year of age), and ventricular septal defect (Browdwell & Saunders 1993). There is also evidence that there may be an increased manifestation of renal, urinary, hepatic, and immune disorders associated with FAS. (Rossett & Weiner, 1984).
It is generally accepted in the medical community that the severity of fetal abnormalities seen in children with FAS is directly correlated with the amount and duration of the mothers drinking during pregnancy. For example the child of a woman who drank heavily during a short time period while she was pregnant may not exhibit as severe of malformations as a child who's mother drank heavily throughout pregnancy (Nanson, Bolaria, Snyder, Morse, & Weiner 1995). Sometimes the effects of the mothers drinking are not seen until later in the child's development when it comes time for him/her to make decisions, solve problems, or remember things.