NEWS and ARTICLES
The Stir - Pregnancy Helped Save Me From Alcohol
For many years of my adult life, I abused alcohol. I don't talk about this very often, but I've been pretty up front about it—at least, as much as I can bear to be. As a result, people sometimes ask me how I managed to stop drinking. I wish I had an easy answer for them, or maybe even something uplifting about doing a personal inventory and finding inner strength and accepting help from others ... but really, the answer is this: I got pregnant.
The Hindu - Better safe than sorry
That's as the popular saying goes and is very relevant for mothers-to-be. There is a precious life growing inside you that is dependent on you for its very existence. Taking care of yourself in body and mind for nine months should be your number one priority to raise a healthy baby and give it the best possible start in life.
BBC News - What damage does alcohol do to our bodies?
We know that drinking too much alcohol is bad for us. It gives us hangovers, makes us feel tired and does little for our appearance - and that is just the morning afterwards.
West Virginia MetroNews (USA) - Study: Many Pregnant Women Test Positive for Drugs
Concerned about the number of babies born addicted to drugs, the staff at CAMC's Women's Medicine Center for Prenatal Care decided to take a closer look at the problem.
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland) - Hundreds of Finnish newborn babies damaged by alcohol
Hundreds, and possibly thousands of children in Finland are born each year suffering from the ill effects caused by alcohol consumed by the mother during pregnancy. According to Research Professor Ilona Autti-Rämö of the Social Insurance Institution KELA, the problem is getting worse.
Northern Advocate (New Zealand) - Northland women warned not to drink while pregnant
Pregnant women from around Northland took to the streets to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking during pregnancy. Several events were held in Whangarei, Kerikeri, Kaitaia, Kaikohe and the Hokianga to mark International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Day last week.
Marketing Week (UK) - Halewood targets pregnant women in wine push
Drinks maker Halewood International is targeting pregnant women in a push for alcohol free wine brand Eisberg that aims to “demystify” the “contradictory” advice given to women during pregnancy.
Offlicence News (UK) - Pregnant women targeted in Eisberg campaign
Alcohol-free wine Eisberg has launched a campaign aimed at pregnant women. The campaign aims to “help demystify the contradicting information and advice given to women in the early stages of pregnancy and offer a healthy alternative to drinking alcohol”.
Victoria Times Colonist (Canada) - FASD's terrible toll can be curbed
The editorial pointed out the harms that face our society related to alcohol use as B.C. and Vancouver Island face increased consumption. One consequence not mentioned in the article is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Every year, approximately 3,000 infants are born in Canada with FASD.
The Daily Telegraph (UK) - Poison for a baby's brain, foetal alcohol syndrome
THE first ever motion recognising foetal alcohol syndrome was passed in parliament last week, with the condition the leading cause of non-genetic disability in children.
Winnipeg Free Press (Canada) - Gerrard vows to track children with FASD
It costs Canadians at least $5.3 billion, affects at least 11,000 Manitobans and clogs jails, welfare rolls and the health-care system. But fetal alcohol spectrum disorder earned barely a mention on the campaign trail until Wednesday -- Day 25 -- when Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard promised to track and count kids with the disability.
BCLocalNews - What it's like to live with FASD
During the Sept. 9 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day in 100 Mile House, Shirlana Vance read out the following speech that she had prepared for the occasion.
MATERIALS
CAMH – Addiction Toolkit: Alcohol Use in Pregnancy
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has an on-line toolkit for health care providers who work in a primary care setting and who have patients with substance use problems. The have recently added two new sections on Alcohol problems in women and Alcohol use in pregnancy.
Call for Papers - Special Issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
The International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research, a peer-reviewed, free-of-charge, open access journal and the official Journal of the Kettil Bruun Society for Social and Epidemiological Research on Alcohol (KBS), invites the submission of papers on biomedical, psychological, and sociological aspects related to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), to be featured in this special issue to be published in December, 2012.
Parenting with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
This paper focuses on issues associated with parenting and living with FASD. It is based on a larger research and video production project that examined the challenges, accomplishments and support needs of adults with FASD in relation to parenting, employment and the legal system.
Review of: "FASD Relationships - What I Have Learned from About Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder"
Rod Densmore is both a medical practitioner and a parent of a young adult with FASD. He addresses the complex issues of FASD as a parent and medical professional in an user-friendly language book and also available as a 5-DVD set.
RESEARCH
Alcoholism - A Limited Access Mouse Model of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure that Produces Long-Lasting Deficits in Hippocampal-Dependent Learning and Memory
It has been estimated that approximately 12% of women consume alcohol at some time during their pregnancy, and as many as 5% of children born in the United States are impacted by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). The range of physical, behavioral, emotional, and social dysfunctions that are associated with PAE are collectively termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Neuroprotective effects of the 17β-estradiol against ethanol-induced neurotoxicity and oxidative stress in the developing male rat cerebellum: Biochem
During particular periods of central nervous system (CNS) development, exposure to ethanol can decrease regional brain growth and can result in selective loss of neurons. Unfortunately, there are few effective means of attenuating damage in the immature brain.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Medusa meeting – The agenda for the expert conference (October 11-12, 2011) will cover recent advances in the alcohol related issues including such important topic as: health consequences of alcohol use, FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome), epidemiology, alcohol policy.
