‘I stopped drinking at 8 weeks pregnant’: Six mothers of babies with foetal alcohol syndrome reveal the agony of being branded alcoholics – while struggling to cope with their child’s severe behavioural disability (Excerpt)
Six mothers have shared their stories of what it’s like to raise children who have fetal alcohol syndrome
Exposed to alcohol prenatally, these children often have distinguishing facial features and suffer from lifelong behavioral disabilities
The mothers explain that people assume FASD is the byproduct of uneducated, poor, young, irresponsible women and that their children just have ‘behavioral issues’
More than 50% of America’s FASD sufferers have been jailed. Support groups claim this is largely due to misunderstanding of their condition
Natyra, Amanda, Tina, Megan, Vicki and Crystal share their emotional roller coasters, their daily struggles and their fears for their children’s futures
Source: Daily Mail
By Mary Kekatos
28 April 2017
When Natyra Teske was 18 years old, she found out she was eight weeks pregnant. Still in high school in Alberta, Canada, she and her boyfriend were shocked and nervous – but excited.
They stocked up on baby gear, followed every pregnancy guide to the letter, ate well, rested up. And, like most expectant moms, Natyra stopped drinking alcohol immediately.
But still, from his birth in 2001, their son Nico had severe developmental problems that required round-the-clock attention. He would scream when touched. As he grew, he would pull out clumps of his hair, punch through walls, and even threaten suicide. Doctors suspected autism; no tests showed a match.
Last October, with Nico aged 16, doctors finally reached a staggering diagnosis: he has fetal alcohol syndrome.
It is a story all too familiar for the thousands of families across the United States – either biological parents or adoptive parents – who have struggled to get a diagnosis for their child’s disability because doctors assume that condition belongs to a certain sector of society.
If you meet a child born poisoned with alcohol, what comes to mind? Chances are, an image of an alcoholic mother and a broken home.
As these six women show, that is not always the case. But the stigma is fierce, and explaining their child’s crippling condition is complicated, to say the least.