Fetal alcohol syndrome: how does it happen and how dangerous is it? - Walla! health

Last night in an interview with Channel 12's weekend news, Ron Koffman and his wife Sarit were revealed as the parents of an adopted child suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome.

Sagi, their 10-year-old son, was diagnosed, not long after being adopted from Russia, as suffering from the syndrome that leads to severe tantrums and violent outbursts that require lifelong monitoring and treatment.

So what exactly is the syndrome and can it be treated?

First of all, it is important to explain that the mission of child and youth psychiatry is to diagnose, treat and alleviate the condition of children, or adolescents, who suffer from various mental distress.

Most mental syndromes result from a combination of environmental and hereditary factors, and therefore cannot be prevented, but diagnosed as early as possible.

Only one developmental mental syndrome is completely preventable and that is fetal alcohol syndrome.

Any exposure to alcohol during pregnancy, especially in its first trimester (the first three months of pregnancy), can cause this disorder.

In fact, fetal alcohol syndrome is the most common cause of developmental intellectual disability in children, "mental retardation" as it was recognized in the past, and its frequency is one in a hundred births.

The syndrome is more common in populations where there is a lot of alcohol drinking in women, in a poor socio-economic situation.

Its prevalence in such populations may reach 5% or more.

This syndrome manifests itself in a wide collection of developmental, mental and behavioral manifestations, in children who were exposed to alcohol during their embryonic development, that is, while in their mother's womb.

were exposed to prevent other parents.

Ron, Sarit and their son Sagi (photo: screenshot, Channel 12 weekend news)

This syndrome has a wide range of manifestations, starting from a disorder in executive functions, i.e., difficulties in organizing, attention and concentration deficits, and difficulties in judgment and decision-making, through intellectual disability, communication disorders, deficits in sensory and emotional regulation, and behavioral disorders at various levels, up to severe and violent outbursts, and disorders Difficulty in judgment and thinking.

In its severe form, the syndrome will also manifest itself in certain characteristics of the child's face, small and close-set eyes, a deep nasal cavity, a small and obnoxious nose, and a very narrow upper lip.

The more the fetus is exposed to a higher amount of alcohol, the more severe the manifestation of the syndrome.

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How are you treated?

Treatment for fetal alcohol syndrome focuses on alleviating the distress of the child, and his family, whether through emotional therapy and guidance, to improve emotional/behavioral regulation, and decision-making, whether through placement in a special social educational framework, or through drug therapy, which improves attention functions, or balances and stabilizes behavior.

In severe cases, there is a need to hospitalize children suffering from the syndrome, in a psychiatric ward for children and adolescents, and sometimes, also to move to an out-of-home therapeutic educational setting.

The syndrome can be diagnosed already in early childhood, based on deficiencies in communication, and in the toddler's behavior, and based on a history of the course of pregnancy that includes drinking alcohol by the mother.

There are several medical centers in Israel that deal with the diagnosis and treatment of fetal alcohol syndrome.

at the "Schneider" Center for Pediatrics, in Petah Tikva and at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. From the moment of diagnosis, one can only alleviate the child's condition, and try to help him reach the maximum of his abilities, but the described phenomena cannot be eliminated. Children suffering from the syndrome will experience significant difficulties throughout their lives, difficulties educational, social, and are even at high risk of addictions, involvement in accidents and shortening life expectancy. The

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