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Marie Lanen
Head of parenting section (baby, pregnancy, family)
He devoted his entire career to fetal alcohol syndrome and the fight to take into account the risks associated with the mother’s alcohol consumption during pregnancy, the pediatrician Philippe Dehaene died on December 9 at the 94 years old.
If Philippe Dehaene has made fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) his hobbyhorse, he was not the first to talk about the link between alcohol consumption during pregnancy and malformation in certain children. It was Dr. Paul Lemoine who in 1966 described a clinical picture of several hundred children born in nurseries to alcoholic parents. As for Philippe Dehaene, he heard about this syndrome during a meeting in 1973. The latter presented American observations of malformations in children who had been exposed to alcohol during their life in utero. The malformations described echo in him, he sees them regularly in the nursery in Roubaix where he carries out part of his professional activity.
Fetal alcohol syndrome: a particular face and many malformations
The malformations described during this meeting are:
- A small head circumference;
- Narrow eyes;
- A flat nose;
- An absence of gutter between the base of the nose and the upper lip;
- An erased chin.
Today, we know that alcohol consumption during pregnancy is responsible for other malformations such as:
- Growth retardation;
- heart defects;
- Renal malformations;
- Bone malformations;
- Brain malformations;
- Neurological abnormalities;
- Attention disorders;
- DYS disorders (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysphasia);
- Learning disabilities;
- Memory problems.
Under the impetus of pediatrician Philippe Dehaene, many actions to combat fetal alcohol syndrome will be implemented in the Nord pas de Calais. If the information became widespread, it was only in 2007 that a logo appeared on bottles of alcohol inviting pregnant women not to consume it.
“No alcohol during pregnancy”
Thanks, among other things, to the work carried out by the pediatrician Philippe Dehaene, then to other colleagues, fetal alcohol syndrome is beginning to be heard and the public authorities will take up the subject. Since then, there is a World Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day which takes place in the month of September. On the other hand, for several years a “zero alcohol during pregnancy” campaign has encouraged future mothers to find out about the subject and to contact health professionals in the event of alcohol consumption. The entourage is also invited to follow the zero alcohol movement to help future mothers not to consume during the 9 months of pregnancy. Indeed, if the phenomenon still exists, there is no real treatment to cure FAS. Only support depending on the disorder (psychomotrician, speech therapist, pediatric neurologist, etc.) will be offered to affected children.
As a reminder, the placenta allows alcohol to pass through, at any stage of pregnancy. If the mother-to-be drinks, so does the baby. There is a toll-free number to support pregnant women who have difficulty not drinking alcohol 0980 980 930 (7/7 days from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.) or on alcohol-info-services.fr.