A pattern of malformations and disabilities from a pregnant woman heavily drinking during pregnancy is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). If the Father was heavily drinking FASD will not happen. By drinking all the time or binge drinking occasionally can produce FASD. FASD is currently the leading cause of mental retardation.

Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/E or FAE) is a condition where children are born with less dramatic physical defects but with  many of the same behavioral psychosocial characteristics as those with deficits in their intellectual, behavioral, and social abilities, which prevent them from leading normal lives. Forty-four percent of women who drink heavily during pregnancy will have a child with FAS. Fifty-six percent of fetal alcohol exposed babies will have FAE.

There are things that need to be present for FASD to be diagnosed.

1. First there are characteristic facial features that include a flattened mid-face, the upper lip, indistinct or no philter, and also shorter eye slits.
2. The second is a low growth rate, low birth weight, disproportional weight that is not from nutrition and height weight that is below the 5^th percentile.
3. The third is the central nervous system: neuro development abnormalities like impaired motor skills, learning disabilities, mental handicap or behavioral disorders; fifty percent of people with FAS have this.

Other distinguishable features ore short stature, small and then, physical problems including hearing defects, organ imperfections, bone problems, difficulty eating, difficulty developing a regular sleep pattern, difficulty learning to walk, difficulty toilet training, impulsively. FAE often goes undiagnosed until school age.

To prevent this from happening practice abstinence, there is no safe amount of alcohol to consume during pregnancy. Prevention efforts target women before and during pregnancy from those who influence these women, such as partners, families, and the community.