The lasting impact of fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effect on children and adolescents.

The estimate is that thousands of infants are born each year with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or fetal alcohol effect (FAE). The nursing literature has frequently treated FAS/FAE as something that happens only to infants; the effects of FAS/FAE do not end during infancy but persist into childhood, adolescence, and throughout adulthood. It is possible that many children and adolescents who have FAS or FAE are frequently seen by health care professionals for various reasons, but the fact that they have FAS/FAE may not be recognized. As a result, these children and their caretakers may not receive the care and counseling they need. This article describes how FAS/FAE occurs; how it may be recognized; the potentially devastating effects it can have on children, adolescents, and their caretakers; and how FAS/FAE can be prevented.