FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS florida resource guide

SECTION 6PreventionSeems so simple. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders could becompletely eliminated just by convincing women not to drink duringpregnancy. Easier said than done.Estimated Prevalence▪ 2040 Florida infants are born with FAS or FAE each year.▪ 156,582 Floridians of all ages are affected with FAS or FAE.▪ Florida spends an estimated $78,918,000 yearly providing specialeducation and juvenile justice services to children 5-18 years oldaffected by FAS or FAE.▪ This amounts to an estimated $914,183 spent per day.Source: www.online-clinic.com/calculator.phpAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention▪ One in eight women of childbearing age (18 to 44 years old)reported, “risk drinking” (seven or more drinks per week, or five ormore drinks on any one occasion).▪ One of every 29 women who knows that she is pregnant reportsrisk drinking▪ Birth defects associated with prenatal alcohol exposure can occur inthe first three to eight weeks of pregnancy, before a woman evenknows that she is pregnant.Current StrategiesCurrent strategies to prevent FAS have been delineated into threecomponents by The Committee to Study Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ofthe Institute to Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Theyinclude universal, selective, and indicated prevention methods(Stratton, Howe, & Battaglia 1996).There should beno doubt. It isalcohol, not theother associated riskfactors; it is alcohol,not the other drugs,legal or illegal, thatthe mother mightalso be taking; it isalcohol that causesFAS and the othereffects of prenatalalcohol exposuredescribed in thisbook. If women didnot drink alcoholduring pregnancy,no more childrenwould be born withFAS/FAE.– Anne Streissguth, 1997Universal prevention methods attempt to educate the general publicabout the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. This methodreaches a broad audience, but is geared toward pregnant women andwomen of childbearing age. Universal prevention methods includepublic service announcements, articles in newspapers and popularmagazines, pamphlets distributed in health care settings, billboards,and alcoholic beverage warning labels.FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS florida resource guide 45