Which item is not considered a risk factor for fetal alcohol syndrome?

Which item is not considered a risk factor for fetal alcohol syndrome?

• A. Social drinking
• B. Binge drinking
• C. Mixing alcohol with drugs
• D. Drug abuse

Answer: (A)

Fetal alcohol syndrome risk depends on how much and how often alcohol reaches the fetus. Social drinking usually involves only small, infrequent amounts, so it generally doesn’t reach levels that cause FAS. In contrast, binge drinking delivers a large amount of alcohol in a short time, creating a high fetal exposure and significantly increasing the risk. Mixing alcohol with other drugs can raise overall harm and often increases the fetus’s exposure to toxic levels, further elevating risk. Drug abuse can harm the fetus in various ways, but FAS specifically results from alcohol exposure; the key idea is that patterns of alcohol use that produce high fetal exposure drive the risk, whereas light, social drinking does not.

Fetal alcohol syndrome risk depends on how much and how often alcohol reaches the fetus. Social drinking usually involves only small, infrequent amounts, so it generally doesn’t reach levels that cause FAS. In contrast, binge drinking delivers a large amount of alcohol in a short time, creating a high fetal exposure and significantly increasing the risk. Mixing alcohol with other drugs can raise overall harm and often increases the fetus’s exposure to toxic levels, further elevating risk. Drug abuse can harm the fetus in various ways, but FAS specifically results from alcohol exposure; the key idea is that patterns of alcohol use that produce high fetal exposure drive the risk, whereas light, social drinking does not.