Notice to Readers
Alcohol and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week, May
12-18, 1996
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD)
has designated May 12-18, 1996, as Alcohol and Other Drug-Related
Birth Defects Awareness Week. One of the leading causes of birth
defects in the United States is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which
results from in utero alcohol exposure. In the United States each
year, an estimated 12,000 children are born with FAS (1). The
prevalence of FAS ranges from 0.7 cases per 1000 live births for
the total U.S. population to 2.7 for American Indians/Alaskan
Natives (2-4).
A congressionally mandated report prepared by the Institute of
Medicine (IOM) indicated that, although the overall prevalence of
any reported alcohol use during pregnancy has declined since the
mid-1980s, the proportion of women who drink heavily during
pregnancy has remained constant (1). However, a recent study
documented that a high proportion of women with certain
characteristics (i.e., nonwhite, smoker, low income, and no
prenatal care) are more likely to consume more than six drinks per
week during their last pregnancy (5). The IOM report recommended
the creation of a interagency task force to facilitate research
directed toward 1) estimating the true prevalence of FAS and of
alcohol use among pregnant and reproductive-aged women; 2)
improving understanding of the risk factors for drinking heavily
during pregnancy; and 3) developing a model for preventing drinking
during pregnancy, which includes the participation of the woman's
partner, family members, and health-care providers. CDC-sponsored
prevention projects being evaluated include prenatal interventions
for pregnant women who report alcohol use and reproductive-health
education and counseling for women in drug- and alcohol-treatment
centers.
Additional information about Alcohol and Other Drug-Related
Birth Defects Awareness Week is available from NCADD, 12 West 21
Street, New York, NY 10010; telephone (212) 206-6770. Copies of the
IOM executive summary are available free of charge from the
Institute of Medicine, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC, 20418.
References
Institute of Medicine. Fetal alcohol syndrome diagnosis,
epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. Stratton K, Howe C,
Battaglia S, eds. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1996.
CDC. Trends in fetal alcohol syndrome -- United States,
1979-1993.
MMWR 1995;44:249-51.
CDC. Linking multiple data sources in fetal alcohol syndrome
surveillance -- Alaska. MMWR 1993;42:312-4.
CDC. Use of International Classification of Diseases coding to
identify fetal alcohol syndrome -- Indian Health Service
facilities,
1981-1992. MMWR 1995;44:253-5,261.
CDC. Sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics associated
with alcohol consumption during pregnancy -- United States,
1988.
MMWR 1995;44:261-4.
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