Alcohol Can Harm Your

Unborn Child

Diane Black, Ph.D.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Foundation of the Netherlands

No amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy Reduces fertility Increases risk of miscarriage Birth defects Brain damage learning disorders and behavioral disorders Long term:

Unemployment Mental illness Criminality

FASD: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

FAS: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

FAE: Fetal Alcohol Effects ARND: Alcohol Related

Neurodevelopmental Disorder

pFAS: partial FAS ARBD: Alcohol Related

Birth Defects

FAS

FAE

ARND

pFAS

ARBD

F A S D

Acts young for age Argues a lot Can't sit still, restless, hyperactive Cruelty, bullying, or meanness to

others Disobedient at home Doesn't show guilt after misbehaving Can't concentrate or poor attention Impulsive or acts without thinking Lying or cheating Showing off or clowning Steals from home Steals outside

Study--Child Behavior Checklist

Nash et al.(Arch Womens Mental Health, 2006)

Mental illness >90% Early school leavers 60% Trouble with the law 60% Institutionalization (psychiatric, drugs- or

alcohol addiction treatment, prison) 50% Inappropriate sexual behavior 50% Alcohol or drug addiction 30% Dependent living 80% of those over age 21

Streissguth et al. (CDC, 1996)

Long term outcome

Child with FAS Adult with FAS

PreventionDoctor, midwife

Researchers

ProfessionalsDoctorPsychologistSocial workerDieticianSpecial education teachersPhysical therapyPlay therapySpeech therapy

Parents School

Support parentsFoster care

ProfessionalsSupervised living and workingJudgesPrison workersMental health care workersDrug and alcohol addiction

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Financial cost of FASD Canada (Stade et al. 2009)

1% of live births has FASDEstimated costs included: Medical, educational, social services, loss of parent’s productivity (time off for doctor visits)Did not include loss of productivity of adults with FASDid not account for parents who quit work to care for child(ren) with FASDTotal annual costs per person with FASD: $ 21, 642Total annual costs for Canada for FASD: $ 5.3 billion

Many babies in Europe areprenatally exposed to alcohol

Netherlands: 35-50% of pregnant women drink (Health Council of the Netherlands) Spain: 45% of babies in Barcelona heavily exposed (Garcia-Algar, 2008) Ireland: 63% of women drink during pregnancy (Coombe Women's Hospital, Dublin)

Young school children in the US: 20 to 50 per thousand FASD (May et al., 2009).

6-year-olds in Lazio region of Italy: 20 to 40 per thousand FASD (May et al., 2006).

School children in Croatia: 40 per thousand FASD (Petković & Barisić, 2010).

Prevalence FASD

What can Europe do? (1)– Measure the problem

Conduct active case-ascertainment studies of prevalence in each country.

– Prevention Develop clear guidelines based on best scientific

evidence. Make sure that the info gets to professionals

(training, literature). Make sure that the info gets to pregnant women

(via doctors and midwives, direct public outreach such as tv, radio, labels on bottles).

 

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What can governments do? (2) – Support of people with FASD

Support research into best practices in education, medical care of people with FASD

Train professionals (health-care, justice, education) to recognize and manage FASD

Provide adapted special education, supervised living and work environments for adults with FAS. 

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More information: www.eufasd.org