<p>My wife and I are considering adoption of a child whose mother binged alcohol during pregnancy. Part of this very complex and emotional decision for us is understanding the risks that the child will suffer mental impairment, and to what degree. There is plenty of good literature around Fetal Alcohol Syndrome more generally, but we'd like to gain some insight into how the information available to us about the child's postpartum development could impact those probabilities.</p>
<p>After reviewing some of the literature I've found no information to help us assess the likelihood of FAS <em>given</em> what we know postpartum. Are there any studies that can be used to glean some insight into the likelihood of cognitive impariment once certain milestones or tests have been conducted?</p>
<p>While we're not disinterested in other non-neurological consequences, our focus at the moment is only the possible psychological and neurological impact on the child.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-08T13:53:40.637Z
Remember that kids can develop all sorts of difficult conditions even after you adopt. Are you ready?
Bryan Krause
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-10T08:09:01.153Z
@BryanKrause I don't know how anyone could ever be ready for parenting, let alone adoption. But I think we're as ready as we'll ever be. I didn't mean to imply by the question that there aren't other factors, and as prospective parents we're fully aware of the broader set of circumstances and consequences of adoption. But that's obviously not what this question is about.
quant
<reference-request><abnormal-psychology><alcohol><diagnosis><children>
Risk of mental disability from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome without a postpartum diagnosis
quant
# Risk of mental disability from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome without a postpartum diagnosis

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-07-08)

My wife and I are considering adoption of a child whose mother binged alcohol during pregnancy. Part of this very complex and emotional decision for us is understanding the risks that the child will suffer mental impairment, and to what degree. There is plenty of good literature around Fetal Alcohol Syndrome more generally, but we'd like to gain some insight into how the information available to us about the child's postpartum development could impact those probabilities.

After reviewing some of the literature I've found no information to help us assess the likelihood of FAS *given* what we know postpartum. Are there any studies that can be used to glean some insight into the likelihood of cognitive impariment once certain milestones or tests have been conducted?

While we're not disinterested in other non-neurological consequences, our focus at the moment is only the possible psychological and neurological impact on the child.

**Tags:** reference-request, abnormal-psychology, alcohol, diagnosis, children

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Remember that kids can develop all sorts of difficult conditions even after you adopt. Are you ready?  
> **username_0**: @BryanKrause I don't know how anyone could ever be ready for parenting, let alone adoption. But I think we're as ready as we'll ever be. I didn't mean to imply by the question that there aren't other factors, and as prospective parents we're fully aware of the broader set of circumstances and consequences of adoption. But that's obviously not what this question is about.  

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## 0 answers

