Newswise — Some health care professionals believe that women who are pregnant can enjoy an occasional glass of wine with no ill effects to their unborn babies.
They're mistaken, and an awareness campaign spearheaded by Saint Louis University is about to tell them so, says Mark Mengel, M.D., MPH, chair of community and family medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
"In one study, researchers looked at the behavior of children whose mothers drank alcohol when they were pregnant, and found that even small amounts of drinking during pregnancy was associated with higher levels of aggressive and delinquent behavior in their offspring at age 6," Dr. Mengel says.
"Another study showed there were perceptible differences in the heights of children at age 14 whose mothers drank even a small amount of alcohol; their offspring were smaller. There is no safe level you can drink during pregnancy, so the Midwestern Regional FAS Training Center will offer continuing education to doctors, therapists, nurses and other health professionals to address this problem."
The University of Missouri-Columbia, Missouri Institutes of Mental Health and the St. Louis Association of Retarded Citizens are collaborating with Saint Louis University on the Midwestern Regional FAS Training Center. The center serves six states and is funded by a $797,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We just haven't been very good at getting the word out about the dangers of drinking during pregnancy," Dr. Mengel says. "Fetal alcohol syndrome was discovered in 1973. A lot of doctors graduated from medical school before then. There hasn't been a lot of continuing education on this topic."
This is the second grant to Saint Louis University to research fetal alcohol syndrome. The other funds the first marketing campaign in the country that targets African-American women to warn them of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy. The incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome is three to five times greater among African-Americans, Dr. Mengel says.
A mother's consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can lead to birth defects and developmental disabilities in children. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most profound result of mothers drinking alcohol during pregnancy, and involves lifelong impairments to a child's ability to function.
Fetal alcohol syndrome typically occurs in children of mothers who consume five or more drinks at one occasion or have seven or more drinks a week. Some mothers drink early in their first trimester of pregnancy, when they don't realize they're pregnant.
"Heavy or binge drinking is associated with the highest risk of fetal alcohol syndrome," Dr. Mengel says. "However, even among women who drink occasionally during pregnancy, you still see effects on their children."
Researchers at the Midwestern Regional FAS Training Center have spent the last year surveying occupational therapists, family practice physicians, physician assistants and other health professionals to see how much they know about fetal alcohol syndrome.
Using that information, the center is creating a curriculum - including new and existing materials - designed to fill knowledge gaps and educate health professionals on diagnosing and preventing the problem. The center will teach the new course on fetal alcohol syndrome to 30 healthcare professionals from six states next March. The professionals will return to their communities and host presentations there to spread the word to colleagues.
"It's important for those who work with children to recognize fetal alcohol syndrome. The best time to make the diagnosis is at 8 months to 8 years," Dr. Mengel says.
"In addition, those who care for children with fetal alcohol syndrome need to know how to construct multi-disciplinary treatment plans. As kids grow up with fetal alcohol syndrome, they have a lot of secondary disabilities that can involve the legal system, school problems, alcohol and depression. They are more prone to aggressive and delinquent behavior. Early recognition and treatment greatly reduces that chance of these secondary disabilities."
Dr. Mengel says that research within the last decade has shed new light on fetal alcohol syndrome.
"Medical and allied health schools should integrate this new knowledge into what they're teaching students. Professional board certification examinations should include questions about fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome is entirely preventable, but awareness of FAS as an important issue is still low."
Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first M.D. degree west of the Mississippi River. Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a pioneer in geriatric medicine, organ transplantation, chronic disease prevention, cardiovascular disease, neurosciences and vaccine research, among others. The School of Medicine trains physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health services on a local, national and international level.
RSS