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Prenatal alcohol exposure is a preventable cause of birth defects, including mental retardation and neurodevelopmental deficits. Since the initial recognition in 1968 of the multiple effects that alcohol can have on the developing fetus [1] and the subsequent deli ....

Middle of Essay
.... congenital abnormalities, children born to women who drank alcohol excessively during pregnancy appear to be at increased risk for attention deficit disorders with hyperactivity, fine-motor impairment, and clumsiness as well as more subtle delays in motor performance and speech disorders. [4] These findings have been referred to as fetal alcohol effects (FAE). As recently described, FAS and FAE produce profound cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial problems that persist to date of follow-up of those affected. In the most comprehensive and far-reaching study to date, Streissguth et al [5] traced the natural history into adulthood and demonstrated t ....