Foetal alcohol syndrome

When drinking mother harms unborn child

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Does your child have trouble getting along with other children, school work, or staying focused on any single task? Do they have poor coordination or balance, intellectual disability, learning disorders and delayed development, poor memory, trouble with attention and with processing information and rapidly changing moods? Do they have very small head and eyes, deformities of joints, limbs and fingers, slow physical growth before and after birth, and heart defects and problems with kidneys and bones?

If you answered `yes’ to many of these signs and symptoms, your child could possibly be afflicted with Foetal alcohol syndrome. This condition in a child results from the mother consuming alcohol during pregnancy. It causes brain damage and growth problems which vary from child to child and are not reversible.

And if you suspect your child has fetal alcohol syndrome, talk to your doctor as soon as possible. Early diagnosis may help to reduce problems such as learning difficulties and behavioral issues.

Although human research has not been able to establish the pattern, amount, and/or critical period of prenatal alcohol exposure necessary for structural and/or functional abnormality, animal models have demonstrated that all stages of the foetus development are vulnerable to the abnormality effects of the pregnant woman consuming alcohol.

Alcohol is a regulated drug, classified as a depressant, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). It says when consumed in low amounts, such as one or two glasses of beer or wine, alcohol is often acts as a stimulant. When consumed in larger amounts, however, its depressant effects begin to set in: slowed down motor functions, sluggish reaction times, and dulled or slurred speech.

The type and severity of birth defects induced by a pregnant woman consuming alcohol are largely dependent on the pattern of exposure, the dose, and the developmental stage of the embryo at the time of exposure. Multiple animal models have also shown that even low levels of prenatal alcohol exposure can lead to brain dysfunction, which can lead to behavioral abnormalities.

Experts say there is no amount of alcohol that is known to be safe to consume during pregnancy. If a mother drinks during pregnancy, they place their unborn baby at risk of fetal alcohol syndrome.

Studies of antenatal alcohol exposure in Uganda are limited. A 2021 study entitled `Alcohol use during pregnancy in Rakai, Uganda’ found that alcohol use during pregnancy was common.

Done by Adriane Wynn, Assistant professor at the University of California’s Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, the study found that alcohol use during pregnancy was associated with religion, occupation, higher numbers of past year sex partners, having a partner who drank before sex in the past 12 months, and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) experience.

Among 960 pregnant women with a median age of 26 years, 33% reported alcohol use during their current pregnancy. Up to 35% had experienced IPV in the past 12 months and 13% were living with HIV. Many belonged to the Catholic religion.

A 2010 study found that among a sample of pregnant women seeking antenatal care at the national referral hospital in Kampala, 25% reported alcohol use after learning they were pregnant. Another study that combined self-reported alcohol use and a blood biomarker found that 20% of pregnant women living with HIV in southwestern Uganda met the criteria for hazardous alcohol use.

Worldwide, alcohol use is an important cause of disease and death, and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) bears the largest alcohol-attributable burden of disease and injury. Alcohol use during pregnancy is common in many countries with one systematic review and meta-analysis estimating the worldwide prevalence to be 9.8%.

Antenatal exposure to alcohol is a global public health concern associated with adverse health consequences for women and neonates, including stillbirth, low birthweight, preterm birth, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Uganda has one of the highest rates of alcohol use in SSA. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that, in 2016, alcohol use per capita was 9.5 liters of pure alcohol (16.1 among men and 3.0 among women)

Although 63.7% of the population (aged 15 years and older) reported that they abstained from alcohol use in the past year, among those who drank, 56.9% reported heavy episodic drinking (68.8% among men and 32.6% among women), and 7.1% met criteria for alcohol use disorders (12.4% among men and 1.9% among women).