International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day: What the Syndrome Is and How to Prevent It
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are a group of conditions that can occur in a child as a result of the mother’s alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Alcohol freely crosses the placenta to the fetus and negatively affects its development from the moment of conception until birth. The most severe manifestation of FASD is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). It can be accompanied by disorders of central nervous system development, growth delays, and characteristic facial features.
Ahead of International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day, marked on September 9, the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine explained how FASD can manifest and how to prevent it.
Analysis of the FASD Situation in Ukraine
According to WHO estimates, the prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in Ukraine in 2019 was 50 per 10,000 children, but this data is based on estimates and studies rather than systematic annual records. According to the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU), between 2020–2024, 363 children were diagnosed with FAS — approximately 0.05 cases per 1,000 children.
How FASD Manifests
Cognitive impairments and learning difficulties: a child may experience memory and learning difficulties, delayed speech development, reduced intellectual abilities, and difficulty planning and organizing their own actions.
Emotional and behavioral problems may manifest as hyperactive behavior, difficulty concentrating, and poorly developed logical thinking skills. A child may find it difficult to control their emotions and may avoid conflicts with other children.
Physical and motor impairments can also be part of FASD and include growth disorders, coordination and motor function problems, and vision or hearing issues. People with the most severe manifestation of the spectrum — Fetal Alcohol Syndrome — may have microcephaly and characteristic facial features.
Disorders associated with FASD can have long-term or lifelong effects. In adolescence and adulthood, a person may find it difficult to independently organize daily life, study, work, control behavior, and adapt to social situations. People with FASD may also develop co-occurring mental and behavioral disorders and other health problems.
How to Prevent FASD
The only effective way to prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders is to completely eliminate alcohol consumption starting at the pregnancy planning stage. Remember that there is no safe dose of alcohol, no safe period for its consumption, and no safe type of alcoholic beverage during pregnancy.
According to World Health Organization statistics, about 60% of women may not know they are pregnant until the 6th–7th week. Therefore, it is important to understand that it is never too late to stop drinking alcohol: quitting at any stage of pregnancy can reduce further risk to the child.
If you find it difficult to stop drinking alcohol on your own, seek help from your family doctor.
FASD Prevention Program
FASD is a serious medical and social problem that is 100% preventable. Despite this, FASD prevention remains insufficiently integrated into daily medical practice. To change this situation, the Public Health Center has developed a model for counseling pregnant women in outpatient settings using the standardized AUDIT-C tool and brief interventions, which was tested in medical facilities in Kyiv.
The study showed that the model is acceptable and can be integrated into routine antenatal care (medical support for pregnant women).
Based on materials from the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine