The Pregnancy Edit features a series of articles on alcohol-related harm in pregnancy, created for the Society for the Study of Addiction website in September 2021. Browse content from The Pregnancy Edit below.
On the framework for talking about alcohol-related harm in pregnancy…
1. The dominant message to women is: drink alcohol and risk immense harm; abstain from alcohol and have zero risk of harm. Article discusses the need to understand how women engage with the concept of risk, and how they use this to make decisions in the context of their lives.
On fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)…
2. New resource describes what this form of alcohol-related harm in pregnancy is, how to diagnose and treat it, how to prevent it, and whether there are any equality and diversity considerations.
3. Aliy Brown talks to the SSA about how FASD Hub Scotland is working to meet the needs of families affected by FASD.
4. Article provides a quick overview of the potential mediating role of the placenta in alcohol-related harm in pregnancy.
On national guidelines…
5. In 2019, Scotland became the first country in the UK to publish guidelines on diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Article discusses the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines on FASD.
6. Blog recaps the debate over draft NICE guidelines on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, including concerns from women’s organisations that the text overlooks or undermines women’s rights to medical confidentiality, and rights to give (or withhold) informed consent.
On communicating with women about risk in pregnancy…
7. The Principal Investigator of the WRISK Project, Clare Murphy, talks to the SSA about the potential unintended consequences of ‘abstinence-only’ messages for pregnant women, and why public health messages for pregnant women need to be re-calibrated.
8. Researchers from Switzerland investigated prenatal alcohol consumption from the perspective of 30 couples expecting their first baby. Article analyses the study’s findings, including the unintended consequences of messages about risk in pregnancy, and the role partners can play in women having healthy pregnancies.
On developing interventions…
9. Specialist midwife Anna Ferguson talks to the SSA about best practice in working with pregnant women who have substance use problems.
10. Blog examines how alcohol-related harm can be prevented in unplanned pregnancies, and why the lifecourse perspective – which assumes a state of ‘pre-pregnancy’ – can be problematic for women of ‘childbearing’ age.
The Pregnancy Edit was edited by the SSA’s Natalie Davies, who has an interest in harm reduction, women’s rights, and reproductive healthcare.
The opinions expressed in this post reflect the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA.
The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.
