Klaipėda doctors describe shocking infant diagnosis as mother faces prosecution

Doctors at Klaipėda University Hospital say the most difficult cases are not necessarily the visibly intoxicated mothers. Obstetrician-gynecologist Linas Rovas identified a quieter danger: women who believe that one or two glasses of wine can go unmentioned.

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The last case, essentially, was when a newborn was born with what we might call post-alcohol syndrome, or, in everyday terms, like a bad spirit after the mother had been drinking for several days.

Around 1,800 babies are born at the hospital each year, and staff say mothers who need to be sobered up during labor are uncommon. Rovas recalled the latest case in which a newborn appeared to have what he described as an alcohol-related, post-intoxication syndrome.

Lithuania was shaken several years ago by a case in which a woman gave birth to a completely intoxicated baby. The girl had four per mille of alcohol in her blood. The court could not establish that the mother had drunk regularly during pregnancy, but concluded that she had consumed up to 700 grams of vodka before the birth, beginning the previous evening and continuing through the morning of delivery. It became Lithuania’s first case in which a mother was convicted for alcohol use during pregnancy that harmed her baby’s health.

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The biggest problem is women who think: I had one or two glasses of wine, and I did not tell anyone. Such an educated mother.

Doctors say the wider problem remains largely hidden. Lithuania does not have national statistics on the number of children born with fetal alcohol syndrome, and the country lacks the diagnosis as a separate category. Augusta Petrušaitė, head of the hospital’s Women’s and Children’s Clinic, said the condition is often recorded as a mixed developmental and behavioral disorder. Lithuanian specialists are working with colleagues in Poland and Germany to standardize the methodology and establish the diagnosis.

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Ethanol, alcohol, is one of the most dangerous chemical substances because it acts directly on the brain. If we do not think about this during pregnancy and protect the fetal brain, we will not have a future society.

The syndrome cannot be cured, but doctors say early recognition can help. Rovas said the brain is highly adaptable, allowing support to influence development from the first days of life. He also argued that a clear diagnosis helps families, doctors and courts understand the behavior and needs of affected children. Medical staff stress that no amount of alcohol is considered safe during pregnancy.

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We do not have this diagnosis in Lithuania.