[A case of fetal alcohol effects with orofacial cleft]

Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy may result in facial dysmorphism, growth retardation and central nervous system deficits. This has been found in infants ranging from fetal alcohol effects (FAE) to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), or alcohol related neurodevelopment disorders (ARND) and alcohol related birth defects (ARBD). In this study, we report a FAE case with orofacial cleft due to mother's alcohol use during her pregnancy. A 32-year-old Japanese woman, para2, gravida3. She was drinking alcohol while this pregnancy. At 39th week, a girl was delivered vaginally. Her birth weight is 3860gr. Apgar score is seven points at one minutes and eight points at 10 minutes. Orofacial cleft and sinus tachycardia were diagnosed postnatally. From a brain-computed tomography (CTscan), it showed a normal finding. Karyotype was normal female phenotype (46, XX). It is important to note that the obstetrician had to advise the women not to have alcohol use during pregnancy in order to prevent her baby from fetal alcohol effects or toxic effect of alcohol on the fetus.