UNLV TEAM 4

Smoking during pregnancy 

Based on studies, smoking during pregnancy has resulted in high risk levels of ADHD. The risk does associate with maternal and paternal, but much higher for maternal. Not only does smoking cigarettes lead to this risk of ADHD, maternal use of nicotine patches during pregnancy is also a factor. Not only does smoking cigarettes, in general, decrease the chances of conceiving, there are serious fetal health risks beyond learning disabilities. One in five of babies who's mother smoked during pregnancy will be born at a low birth weight, and it can also cause lung and brain tissue damage. 

Drinking during pregnancy 

Every year, up to 7000 babies are born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder in just the UK alone. Since 2012, the percentage of women who binge drink during pregnancy has increased. There are two different syndromes that fall under the same category, and that is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is worse amongst the two, because it effects your physical features as well as cognitive function and personality, and FASD mostly effects your personality and your learning abilities, along with a slight physical feature distortion.  

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD) Symptoms 

  • Low body weight
  • Poor coordination
  • Hyperactive behavior
  • Difficulty with attention
  • Poor memory
  • Difficulty in school (especially with math)
  • Learning disabilities
  • Speech and language delays
  • Intellectual disability or low IQ
  • Poor reasoning and judgment skills
  • Sleep and sucking problems as a baby
  • Vision or hearing problems
  • Problems with the heart, kidneys, or bones
  • Shorter-than-average height
  • Small head size
  • Abnormal facial features, such as a smooth ridge between the nose and upper lip (this ridge is called the philtrum)


Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Symptoms 

Physical defects

  • Distinctive facial features, including small eyes, an exceptionally thin upper lip, a short, upturned nose, and a smooth skin surface between the nose and upper lip
  • Deformities of joints, limbs and fingers
  • Slow physical growth before and after birth
  • Vision difficulties or hearing problems
  • Small head circumference and brain size
  • Heart defects and problems with kidneys and bones


Brain and central nervous system problems

  • Poor coordination or balance
  • Intellectual disability, learning disorders and delayed development
  • Poor memory
  • Trouble with attention and with processing information
  • Difficulty with reasoning and problem-solving
  • Difficulty identifying consequences of choices
  • Poor judgment skills
  • Jitteriness or hyperactivity
  • Rapidly changing moods


Social and behavioral issues

  • Difficulty in school
  • Trouble getting along with others
  • Poor social skills
  • Trouble adapting to change or switching from one task to another
  • Problems with behavior and impulse control
  • Poor concept of time
  • Problems staying on task
  • Difficulty planning or working toward a goal