by Rachel Bender WHNP
The truth is, as your health care provider, we simply cannot tell you one glass of wine will be ok. There is no evidence to support any amount of alcohol or time of consumption as being “safe”. The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nursing (AWHONN) is joining together with Arc, the largest national community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, to raise awareness to patient’s and their health care providers about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). FASD is a group of conditions that occur in a person whose mother drank during pregnancy. These effects can include physical, behavioral, mental and/or learning disabilities. More information on signs, symptoms, and management can be found at the Centers for Disease Control website cbc.gov. FASDs last a lifetime. No cure exists for FASDs, but research shows that early intervention and treatment services can improve a child’s development. The main point of raising awareness is to let our patients know we are here to help! Here at WCS, we are your advocates. We are here to help you have your healthiest pregnancy. When you are told a glass of wine is ok, remember, FASD is completely preventable, so why take the risk!
- Streissguth, A.P., Bookstein, F.L., Barr, H.M., Sampson, P.D., O’Malley, K., & Young, J.K. (2004). Risk factors for adverse life outcomes in fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 5(4), 228-238.
- Streissguth, A.P., Barr, H.M., Kogan, J. & Bookstein, F. L., Understanding the occurrence of secondary disabilities in clients with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effects (FAE). Final report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seattle: University of Washington, Fetal Alcohol & Drug Unit; August 1996. Tech. Rep. No. 96-06.
MAY