Listening to the Parents:
Being a parent of a child with FAS can be a struggle. It is very different than taking care of a typical child. One of the articles I used for my research had quotes from parents talking about the struggles they face daily. There were 4 mothers, Mother A,B,C,D the first subject they discussed was feeding time: "I would introduce a little bit of mashed potatoes with a bit of gravy and it would just come straight back up like projectile vomit all the time and I thought okay, she's not used to solids you know, she's not used to solids, that's what this is about but then realizing that it's not that and realizing that it's the reflux, the muscles again because she's under developed but we got there, we preserved... whether it be the tiniest, tiniest little bit and down it would go but it was only tiny, tiny bits and that was a really slow process but we got her there, eventually but she's still funny with food today and will still often go to reach at certain foods or just doesn't want to eat sometimes and will struggle with food.(Mother B, Whitehurst)"
If the child isn't capable of eating by mouth, they will have a G-tube. The tube is placed in the stomach, so that the liquid formula would go directly into their stomach. If they can eat by themselves, how well they can do that varies from child to child. It all depends on how badly they are affected by FAS. Some kids can eat just fine, some kids struggle and often vomit.
If the child isn't capable of eating by mouth, they will have a G-tube. The tube is placed in the stomach, so that the liquid formula would go directly into their stomach. If they can eat by themselves, how well they can do that varies from child to child. It all depends on how badly they are affected by FAS. Some kids can eat just fine, some kids struggle and often vomit.
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Mother A talks about how hard it is to feed, and how stressful it is. It is your baby so you need to do whatever is possible to make sure they have a full stomach. "I can't explain why food is such an emotional thing, why you just want your child to eat... food is a big, big problem... sometimes she will only eat puree or she holds her food in her mouth forever, you know, doesn't swallow or doesn't chew or she's just spitting it everywhere or just throwing the plates everywhere(Whitehurst)." Even getting a typical child to sit down and relax for a meal is hard. A child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome will rarely sit down and be quiet for a long period of time. They always have to be moving something, or even just walking around. And if you do get them to sit, there is a chance that they will throw up most of their meal.
When the children get taken by CPS, they go to a group home or will be adopted to another family. Mothers are now talking about how difficult the disability is, and how everyone jumps to blaming the mother(even though all kids in the study were adopted). Mother A "and I think what's difficult about FAS is, do you say she has FAS because if you say she has FAS you're going to have to tell everyone that she's adopted or people think you're an alcoholic(Whitehurst)". Mother B felt basically the same way "I said to them my one child has got fetal alcohol syndrome and do you know what.. their jaws dropped and they all looked at me as if to say 'so you drank while you were pregnant?'.... then you have to sit there and say well actually it wasn't my fault because my children are adopted children and then you think to yourself I shouldn't even have to be explaining myself to these people(Whitehurst)."
FAS is very stressful for the child and parent. It is hard for some people to cope and get help because people are unaware of fetal alcohol syndrome. They don't understand how harmful it is to the fetus, and how hard it is for that child to grow up and live a normal life. Everyday there will be something they can't do, and that just adds more stress on the parent.
When the children get taken by CPS, they go to a group home or will be adopted to another family. Mothers are now talking about how difficult the disability is, and how everyone jumps to blaming the mother(even though all kids in the study were adopted). Mother A "and I think what's difficult about FAS is, do you say she has FAS because if you say she has FAS you're going to have to tell everyone that she's adopted or people think you're an alcoholic(Whitehurst)". Mother B felt basically the same way "I said to them my one child has got fetal alcohol syndrome and do you know what.. their jaws dropped and they all looked at me as if to say 'so you drank while you were pregnant?'.... then you have to sit there and say well actually it wasn't my fault because my children are adopted children and then you think to yourself I shouldn't even have to be explaining myself to these people(Whitehurst)."
FAS is very stressful for the child and parent. It is hard for some people to cope and get help because people are unaware of fetal alcohol syndrome. They don't understand how harmful it is to the fetus, and how hard it is for that child to grow up and live a normal life. Everyday there will be something they can't do, and that just adds more stress on the parent.