A twenty-year study conducted in Germany has shown that the harmful effects of heavy drinking in women during pregnancy may damage the life of the child all the way through into its adult life.

For thirty years now it is a known fact that addicted mothers run a higher risk of their children displaying characteristic abnormalities of the face and the central nervous system, this quite apart from the dangers of premature birth or spontaneous abortion.

The new study concerns 37 patients (average age 26) displaying either Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or the less-severe Foetal Alcohol Effect (FAE).

The physical effects may attenuate in time, but many patients still had typical abnormalities, such as an unusually small head, a generally stunted physical growth and hyperactivity. Only 5 persons (13%) were able to find normal work, although 26 (69%) had enjoyed special training for that purpose. Only 14% were capable of living autonomously.

A distinct correlation was found between mental capacity at the time of diagnosis and an abnormally small cranial girth 20 years later.

Several of these patients had undergone operations to correct abnormalities peculiar to FAS, such as a cleft palate.

The researchers say that only a very small group of patients are able to live a normal adult life.

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