We don't know what the Russian government did or did not do to help Artyom's biological mother, and it was with his mother that his problems began. Would it have been possible to put Artyom in temporary foster care and place Artyom's mother in alcohol rehab, help her achieve sobriety, teach her parenting skills, and return her child to her? Artyom is not an orphan. If those things had been done, it might have been possible to avoid institutionalization of this child in the first place. It might have been possible to spare him the trauma of separating from his biological mother, and children can and do bond with even bad mothers. It might have rehabilitated his mother so that he could be reunited with her, which would have spared him years in an orphanage and the trauma and disruption and rejection that he just went through with his adoptive American mother. It is unlikely that Russia did any of these things. It is more likely that they simply removed him from his alcoholic mother's care, for reasons of neglect and abuse, and dumped him in an orphanage.
Let's assume that Artyom's mother drank during her pregnancy. What effect might this have had on Artyom?
Quote:
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) is the leading known preventable cause of mental and physical birth defects in the United States.
When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, she risks giving birth to a child who will pay the price " in mental and physical deficiencies " for his or her entire life.
Yet many pregnant women do drink alcohol. It's estimated that each year in the United States, 1 in every 750 infants is born with a pattern of physical, developmental, and functional problems referred to as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), while another 40,000 are born with fetal alcohol effects (FAE).
Signs and Symptoms
If you adopted a child or consumed alcohol during pregnancy and are concerned that your child may have FAS, watch for characteristics of the syndrome, which include:
•low birth weight
•small head circumference
•failure to thrive
•developmental delay
•organ dysfunction
•facial abnormalities, including smaller eye openings, flattened cheekbones, and indistinct philtrum (an underdeveloped groove between the nose and the upper lip)
•epilepsy
•poor coordination/fine motor skills
•poor socialization skills, such as difficulty building and maintaining friendships and relating to groups
•lack of imagination or curiosity
•learning difficulties, including poor memory, inability to understand concepts such as time and money, poor language comprehension, poor problem-solving skills
•behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, social withdrawal, stubbornness, impulsiveness, and anxiety
Children with FAE display the same symptoms, but to a lesser degree.
Diagnosis and Long-Term Effects
Problems associated with FAS tend to intensify as children move into adulthood. These can include mental health problems, troubles with the law, and the inability to live independently.
Kids with FAE are frequently undiagnosed. This also applies to those with alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), a recently recognized category of prenatal damage that refers to children who exhibit only the behavioral and emotional problems of FAS/FAE without any signs of developmental delay or physical growth deficiencies.
Often, in kids with FAE or ARND, the behavior can appear as mere belligerence or stubbornness. They may score well on intelligence tests, but their behavioral deficits often interfere with their ability to succeed. Extensive education and training for the parents, health care professionals, and teachers who care for these kids are essential.
How Much Alcohol Is Too Much?
It's clear that abusing alcohol during pregnancy is dangerous, but what about the occasional drink? How much alcohol constitutes too much during pregnancy?
No evidence exists that can determine exactly how much alcohol ingestion will produce birth defects. Individual women process alcohol differently. Other factors vary the results, too, such as the age of the mother, the timing and regularity of the alcohol ingestion, and whether the mother has eaten any food while drinking.
Although full-blown FAS is the result of chronic alcohol use during pregnancy, FAE and ARND may occur with only occasional or binge drinking.
Because alcohol easily passes the placental barrier and the fetus is less equipped to eliminate alcohol than its mother, the fetus tends to receive a high concentration of alcohol, which lingers longer than it would in the mother's system.
Mothers who drink during the first trimester of pregnancy have kids with the most severe problems because that is when the brain is developing. The connections in the baby's brain don't get made properly when alcohol is present. Of course, in the early months, many women don't even know they're pregnant.
It's important for women who are thinking about becoming pregnant to adopt healthy behaviors before they get pregnant.
Women who abstain from alcohol in early pregnancy may feel comfortable drinking in the final months. But some of the most complex developmental stages in the brain occur in the second and third trimesters, a time when the nervous system can be greatly affected by alcohol. Even moderate alcohol intake, and especially periodic binge drinking, can seriously damage a developing nervous system.
Prevention Is the Key
FAS can be completely prevented by not drinking any alcohol during pregnancy.
Reviewed by: Linda Nicholson, MS, MC
Date reviewed: June 2008
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/fas.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let's assume that, at the least, Artyom may suffer from FAE, a milder form of FAS. While this condition is not reversible, could the child have been helped at the time he was placed in the orphanage (which seems to have been about three or four years ago)?
Quote:
These protective factors have been found to benefit people who have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders:
Early Diagnosis
Children who are diagnosed early have more positive outcomes that those who are not. The earlier a FAS child is placed in appropriate educational classes and given essential social services, the more improved the prognosis.
Early diagnosis also helps family members and teachers understand the reactions and behavior of the FAS child, which can differ widely from other children in the same situations.
Special Education and Social Services
Research has found that fetal alcohol syndrome children who receive special education designed for their specific needs and learning ability are more likely to achieve their developmental and educational potential. Because FAS children can exhibit a wide range of severity of symptoms, individualized educational programs are important.
It is also helpful if FAS children and their family receive social services -- such as respite care, stress management training or behavioral management training -- have more positive outcomes compared with families who do not receive those kinds of services.
Nurturing Environment
All children benefit from a loving, nurturing and stable home life. But children with fetal alcohol syndrome have been found to be more sensitive to disruptions, transient lifestyles and harmful relationships. To prevent the secondary conditions associated with FAS, children who have fetal alcohol syndrome need support from family and the community.
Absence of Violence
Violence in the lives of children with fetal alcohol syndrome can have significant influence on their likelihood of developing behavior, legal and living problems later in life. Studies have found that FAS children who live in stable and non-abusive homes are much less likely to develop secondary conditions.
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/fas/a/fas_treatment.htm
