How to Pronounce Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Say it as FEE-tal AL-koh-hol SIN-drohm. Break it into three parts: "FEE-tal" (rhymes with "beetle"), "AL-koh-hol" (sounds like "alcohol" you might hear in everyday conversation), and "SIN-drohm" (rhymes with "syndrome"). The stress falls on the first syllable of each word: FEE-tal, AL-koh-hol, and SIN-drohm.

"Fetal" comes from the Latin word "fetus," which means an unborn baby still developing in the womb. When doctors use "fetal" in a medical term, they're talking about something that happens to or affects a baby before birth. So "fetal alcohol" refers to alcohol exposure that happens to a baby before it's born.

A "syndrome" is a group of symptoms or signs that happen together and form a recognizable pattern of a condition. The word comes from Greek and means "running together." In "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome," it means this condition includes multiple related problems that often appear together.

The abbreviation is FAS, which is pronounced by saying each letter: F-A-S. You'll often see doctors and health professionals use "FAS" as a shorter way to write and say this term in medical notes and conversations.

Many people stress the wrong syllable and say "fee-TAL" instead of "FEE-tal," or "al-KO-hol" instead of "AL-koh-hol." Remember: the stress always falls on the first syllable of each word—FEE-tal, AL-koh-hol, SIN-drohm—with a bit more emphasis and volume on those first parts.

The term has 7 syllables total: Fe-tal (2) + Al-co-hol (3) + Syn-drome (2). When you say it slowly and carefully, you can count each separate sound: FEE-tal AL-koh-hol SIN-drohm.

You might hear: "The pediatrician explained that the child's developmental delays were consistent with a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome." In this sentence, the term is used to name a specific medical condition that a child has.

"Fetal" (FEE-tal) relates to a fetus, which is an unborn baby. "Fatal" (FAY-tal) means something causes death. These are completely different words even though they sound similar—be careful to pronounce the first vowel correctly: FEE for fetal and FAY for fatal.