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My Last Blog

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This is going to be my last blog as the Adoption Blogger for Families.com. I’m looking forward to spending the summer with my kids, possibly working at their school, and taking on new writing projects. I may well guest blog occasionally for this or other Families blogs. It seems the Adoption Blog will continue, so I hope this blog, along with Families’ forums, can be a source of information and community for adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth parents. Yesterday I could think of a million things to say in my last few blogs and wondered how I would fit it … Continue reading →

The Pregnancy Blog Review for November 13 – 18

The pregnancy blog offers information on all aspects of reproductive health, from trying to conceive until the post partum period. The review is a synopsis of recent topics covered in the blog. This is a quick and easy way to catch up on your reading. By now, we all know that drinking alcohol can be damaging to the baby. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the result of consistent alcohol consumption or frequent binge drinking during pregnancy. There is a less severe, but still damaging form of the disorder. Read more in Fetal Alcohol Effects. Damage caused by Pelvic Inflammatory Disease is … Continue reading →

Fetal Alcohol Effects

There is sometimes confusion about drinking alcohol in pregnancy. We all know that getting drunk is never good for the baby. We even know that drinking a glass of wine with dinner every night is not safe. But what about one glass of wine in the entire nine months? What exactly is safe? Adding to the confusion, recommendations change. During my first pregnancy, I was told by my doctor that an occasional glass of wine was not harmful. Recently I’ve read that no amount is considered safe. To err on the side of caution, it is currently recommended that women … Continue reading →

October: Adoption Blog Month in Review

In the adoption blogs for October you’ll find several series: one series on research on “how adopted children turn out” and the genes-vs.-environment question, one on giving back and how adoption makes the world seem a bit smaller, and one on single parent adoption. Media reviews included a workbook helping parents imagine what an inter-country move might be like for their child and think through related decisions. I also reviewed a wonderful resource for parents who think their child may have been exposed to alcohol prenatally. Another review was of an incredible story of an Ethiopian woman who runs two … Continue reading →

Help for Kids with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Jodee Kulp, adoptive parent of a teen-ager with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)and foster mother of others, is the author of Our FAScinating Journey, subtitled The Best We Can Be: Keys to Brain Potential Along the Path of Prenatal Brain Injury. This 300-page guide is both a memoir of the Kulp family’s experiences and efforts to help their daughter and an incredibly varied compilation of information and resources. The book begins with an introduction to the Kulp family, how they adopted Liz, a failure-to-thrive infant, and fostered Dave, diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Reactive Attachment Disorder, in his infancy … Continue reading →

The Pregnancy Blog Week in Review Sept 10-16

The Pregnancy Blog is a good resource for information on every stage from trying to conceive to after the baby is born. The Week in Review is a good place to get caught up on the weekly blogs all in one place. Read the descriptions and click on the link to read more on the topic. As always, I welcome any suggestions for future topics. When you are pregnant, it can be difficult to know which drugs are safe to take. For this reason, it’s best to always get your doctor’s advice before taking any medication, prescription or over the … Continue reading →

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

If you are pregnant, you have likely heard or read that alcohol should be avoided in pregnancy. There is a good reason to abstain from the adult beverage during these nine months, your baby’s health. Babies born to mothers who drink during pregnancy are at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome. According to the Centers for Disease Control, drinking during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of birth defects in the United States. An astonishing 1 in 750 babies is born with symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome. Tens of thousands more suffer from fetal alcohol effects, a less severe side effect … Continue reading →

Behavior Characteristics: For People Affected By Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

One of the most important things parents are advised is to be firm and consistent with our children, especially when it comes to behaviors. Natural consequences, time out, and other types of discipline are all common ways parents attempt to teach children behavior boundaries. I have 4 children, and with 3 of them standard, ordinary, logical parenting approaches have been very effective. However, I also have one child who was exposed to alcohol before her birth and suffers from Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ARND) A physical disability of the brain. For this child parenting is a completely different story and … Continue reading →

Links Between Brain Differences and Behaviors in Prenatal Alcohol Affected People.

Modern medical science has made it possible to understand the structure and function of the brain. In the past, the role of brain differences in relationship to behavior was not well researched. Early articles about minimal brain disorders were met with scorn by people who believed the research was a way to excuse negative behaviors. Today, brain research is allowing us to understand that many behavioral symptoms are actually symptoms of a brain dysfunction. The new research and advanced medical tools we have today, allow us to approach our feelings about behavior very differently. Linking the role of the brain … Continue reading →

Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder.

Medical research consistently finds the development of the brain is most sensitive to the effects of prenatal alcohol and drug exposure. An unborn baby’s brain is growing and developing the whole time his or her mother is pregnant. Alcohol exposure effects an unborn baby differently at different times depending on the timing of the exposure and the alcohol levels. No two people with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND) are the same. Two different mothers drinking similar amounts of alcohol may have children with completely different effects. Not all alcoholic mothers have baby’s with FAS or ARND, … Continue reading →