Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the combination of growth retardation, neurological impairment and abnormal facies shown by some infants born to alcoholic women. It seems likely that FAS only indicates a small proportion of the total damage inflicted on the foetus by maternal drinking. Levels of alcohol consumption below the equivalent of 30 ml per day of absolute alcohol probably do not have a significant effect on the foetus. But there is an increased incidence of either growth retardation or behavioural and congenital abnormalities amongst the infants of women who drink heavily in pregnancy but who are not alcoholic. Such children are sometimes described as showing foetal alcohol effects and such effects are probably commoner than complete FAS. The way in which alcohol damages the foetus is unknown. Genetic and nutritional factors in mother or child may determine the response to alcohol. Smoking appears to potentiate the effects of alcohol on the foetus. Drugs may also alter the foetal response to alcohol. The prevalence of children damaged by maternal drinking is impossible to estimate. Foetal alcohol effects overlap with many other congenital and developmental abnormalities. FAS is more common than 1 in 2500 births in Liverpool and may even approach the incidence of 1 or 2 cases per 1000 births seen in U.S.A. and Scandinavia.
胎儿酒精综合征（FAS）是指患有酒精中毒的女性所生的部分婴儿出现的生长发育迟缓、神经功能损害及面部异常的综合症状。胎儿酒精综合征似乎仅占母亲饮酒对胎儿造成的全部损害的一小部分。每天酒精摄入量低于相当于30毫升纯酒精的水平可能对胎儿没有显著影响。但是，孕期大量饮酒但未患酒精中毒的女性所生婴儿中，生长发育迟缓或行为及先天性异常的发生率会增加。这类儿童有时被描述为有胎儿酒精影响，而且这种影响可能比完全型胎儿酒精综合征更为常见。酒精损害胎儿的方式尚不清楚。母亲或孩子的遗传和营养因素可能决定对酒精的反应。吸烟似乎会增强酒精对胎儿的影响。药物也可能改变胎儿对酒精的反应。因母亲饮酒而受损害的儿童的患病率难以估计。胎儿酒精影响与许多其他先天性和发育异常情况有重叠。在利物浦，胎儿酒精综合征在每2500例出生中超过1例，甚至可能接近在美国和斯堪的纳维亚半岛每1000例出生中有1或2例的发生率。
