Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a set of birth defects that affect a child's growth and behavior. One of the most common defects is facial abnormalities, although other defects may have a greater impact on the individual's health. These defects occur as a result of exposure to alcohol while in the uterus.

Women have been advised not to drink during pregnancy for generations. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, physicians undertook studies of children born to alcoholic mothers. A study of major importance was conducted in 1973, when researchers first used the term fetal alcohol syndrome to describe abnormalities in children born to alcoholic mothers. Since 1973, the lifelong effects of prenatal alcohol exposure have been recorded in detail. There is no doubt that drinking alcohol during pregnancy is extremely harmful to the fetus, leading to permanent damage.

The Occurrence of Fas

An estimated...