Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), various congenital abnormalities in the newborn infant that are caused by the mother’s ingestion of alcohol about the time of conception or during pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most-severe type of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The syndrome appears to result from the effects of ethyl alcohol (ethanol) or its breakdown product acetaldehyde on the developing human embryo or fetus.

Researchers found that for men, who habitually drank heavily, there was a clear link between alcohol intake and quality of sperm, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The first ever motion recognising foetal alcohol syndrome was passed in parliament last week, with the condition the leading cause of non-genetic disability in children.

More than one in three pregnant women are putting their babies' brains at risk by drinking alcohol and nearly one in 10 had five drinks in a sitting.

Pregnant mums who drink a daily glass of alcohol do not harm their babies' brains, a study has claimed.

Hospitals are offering pregnant mums wine and beer - despite doctors' alarm over the number of ``booze babies'' born with brain damage.

New Zealand health experts want pregnant women to stay away from alcohol, despite Danish research suggesting low to moderate drinking during pregnancy may be OK.

The nation's first comprehensive study of the impact of excessive drinking on unborn Aboriginal children in Western Australia's Kimberley region has found that half of all babies were born with intellectual disabilities from foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

This paper reviews the evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses examining the risk from low and moderate levels of prenatal alcohol exposure. Findings suggest it would be morally and ethically unacceptable for policies and guidelines to condone consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.

Researchers have found that on average, children of mothers who drank between one and seven glasses of alcohol a week during pregnancy did not have balance problems by the time they reached the age of 10. Some children even appeared to have better static balance measurements (balancing without moving) compared to the offspring of mothers who did not drink.

Women who harm their unborn babies by drinking alcohol during pregnancy could be found guilty of a criminal offence, it has been revealed.

Prenatal exposure to alcohol severely disrupts major features of brain development that potentially lead to increased anxiety and poor motor function, conditions typical in humans with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), according to neuroscientists at the University of California, Riverside.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is the umbrella term for impairments of the growth and development of the brain and the central nervous system caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Aboriginal women in Australia have shown how communities can take action to protect their women and babies from alcohol-related harm in pregnancy.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is a term used for a spectrum of conditions caused by fetal alcohol exposure. Each condition and its diagnosis is based on the presentation of characteristic features which are unique to the individual and may be physical, developmental and/ or neurobehavioural.

Research published in 2013 in the Journal of Judicial Administration suggests many people with the Foetal Alcohol Syndrome will fall into a life of crime while still children. Professor Elizabeth Elliott, a paediatrician at Sydney University, says: ''A lot of the kids that are in juvenile justice, particularly in indigenous settings, may well be kids with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.