Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
Included In This Lesson
Study Tools For Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
Outline
Overview
- A group of conditions that can occur when a mother consumes alcohol while pregnant
- No safe amount
- Can be mild or very severe
Nursing Points
General
- You may only note the physical assessment issues, kids with FAS can grow to have issues with judgement, behavior, problems hearing/seeing, or low intelligence
- Also known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Assessment
- Various craniofacial abnormalities can be noted
- Small eye openings
- Wide set eyes
- Smooth between nose and mouth (no philtrum)
- Thin upper lip
- Up turned nose
- CNS issues
- Encephalopathy
- Increased sensitivity to stimuli
- Seizures
- Learning disabilities
- Memory trouble
- ADHD
- Impulsive
- Growth deficiencies
- Small height
- Small weight
- Small head size
Therapeutic Management
- Low stimulation
- Pace feedings
- Consult developmental specialist
- Consult for other concerns/comorbidities that require a specialist
Nursing Concepts
- Human Development
- Health Promotion
Patient Education
- The child will have cognitive deficits for life
- The child may experience judgment and impulse control issues
- There is NO KNOWN safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy
[lesson-linker lesson=221487]
ADPIE Related Lessons
Related Nursing Process (ADPIE) Lessons for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
Transcript
In this lesson I will help you understand fetal alcohol syndrome and your role in this patient’s care.
So during pregnancy the mother should not drink. There is no safe amount that protects her fetus. Drinking will put her baby at risk for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Drinking alcohol in pregnancy can cause problems with fetal development. So the big things are craniofacial and central nervous system. There are noticeable changes in facial characteristics. Growth is altered so they are typically small and either are short, low weight or both. There can be other concerns with cardiac and different systems but these are really comorbidities of having fetal alcohol syndrome and the big diagnosis pieces are craniofacial and central nervous system. Facial will be our biggest assessment piece because we can easily see this and they are specific facial characteristics. So let’s look at our assessment.
For the assessment we will really see craniofacial abnormalities. The biggest things are the eyes have small openings and can be wideset. The upper lip will be thin and the skin above the lip will be smooth between nose and mouth. The little divot between the nose and mouth is called a philtrum but a newborn with FAS might have a smooth philtrum. You can see in this image there are smaller eyes openings, smooth philtrum and thin upper lip. There will also be central nervous system findings but these are typically going to be seen later. These are things like ADHD, impulsiveness, memory, processing and behavioral problems. Growth deficiencies might occur. They might be born with a smaller head, short height, low weight or a combination.
This patient will have very little management. The newborn might require a low stimulation environment so we can help support that. We will need to pace feedings and make sure they are getting adequate calories for growth since they are already starting out smart. If there is a big concern like cardiac then we would be monitoring and referring to a specialist. If there are any comorbidities we can consult a specialist and we also want to involve case management to help with any referrals to developmental specialist because it is likely that the child will have learning delay.Education should really be given prior to pregnancy that there is no safe amount ever in pregnancy and they need to know the risks. There are cognitive deficits that can not be fixed and the child might have judgment, impulse control issues, and learning disabilities.
Human Development is a concept because the alcohol is affecting the development and health promotion because we want to ensure the health of this newborn going forward.
The key points are that fetal alcohol syndrome can occur when a mother drinks excessive alcohol during her pregnancy and here is no safe amount! There is a cluster of characteristics and these mostly all facial. So things like thin upper lip, small eye openings, smooth philtrum. Later some neurological concerns will show. So learning difficulty, maybe they are impulsive or have anger problems. Things that we won’t know at delivery. There is no treatment or lab test for this diagnosis. It is clearly just assessment findings at delivery with mom’s history being considered.
Make sure you check out the resources attached to this lesson and the key points. Now, go out and be your best selves today. And, as always, happy nursing.
Monalisa’s Study Plan
Concepts Covered:
- Community Health Overview
- Circulatory System
- Urinary System
- Communication
- Prenatal Concepts
- Test Taking Strategies
- Respiratory Disorders
- EENT Disorders
- Developmental Theories
- Legal and Ethical Issues
- Prefixes
- Suffixes
- Acute & Chronic Renal Disorders
- Disorders of the Adrenal Gland
- Preoperative Nursing
- Integumentary Disorders
- Integumentary Disorders
- Prioritization
- Bipolar Disorders
- Disorders of the Posterior Pituitary Gland
- Hematologic Disorders
- Immunological Disorders
- Renal Disorders
- Childhood Growth and Development
- Labor Complications
- Upper GI Disorders
- Medication Administration
- Developmental Considerations
- Adulthood Growth and Development
- Disorders of Pancreas
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Musculoskeletal Trauma
- Disorders of the Thyroid & Parathyroid Glands
- Integumentary Important Points
- Pregnancy Risks
- Urinary Disorders
- Cardiac Disorders
- Learning Pharmacology
- Documentation and Communication
- Anxiety Disorders
- Basic
- Factors Influencing Community Health
- Prenatal and Neonatal Growth and Development
- Lower GI Disorders
- Eating Disorders
- Trauma-Stress Disorders
- Microbiology
- Oncology Disorders
- Somatoform Disorders
- Fundamentals of Emergency Nursing
- Dosage Calculations
- Concepts of Population Health
- Understanding Society
- Depressive Disorders
- Personality Disorders
- Cognitive Disorders
- Substance Abuse Disorders
- Psychological Emergencies
- Hematologic Disorders
- Liver & Gallbladder Disorders
- Emergency Care of the Cardiac Patient
- Female Reproductive Disorders
- Delegation
- Vascular Disorders
- Oncologic Disorders
- Postpartum Complications
- Fetal Development
- Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders
- Basics of NCLEX
- Shock
- Studying
- Concepts of Mental Health
- Labor and Delivery
- Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Health & Stress
- Neurological Emergencies
- EENT Disorders
- Emotions and Motivation
- Intraoperative Nursing
- Digestive System
- Central Nervous System Disorders – Brain
- Tissues and Glands
- Postpartum Care
- Cardiovascular Disorders
- Newborn Care
- Renal and Urinary Disorders
- Newborn Complications
- Neurologic and Cognitive Disorders
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Infectious Disease Disorders
- Nervous System
- Respiratory System
- Behavior
- Terminology
- Respiratory Emergencies
- Peripheral Nervous System Disorders
- Proteins
- Noninfectious Respiratory Disorder
- Basics of Human Biology
- Neurological Trauma
- Concepts of Pharmacology
- Statistics
- Emergency Care of the Neurological Patient
- Basics of Sociology
- Central Nervous System Disorders – Spinal Cord
- Infectious Respiratory Disorder
- Psychotic Disorders
- Emergency Care of the Trauma Patient