Welcome Health Care Providers
FASD Prevention
Specific prevention strategies have been shown to have positive impacts in preventing or reducing alcohol use in pregnancy and also in reducing negative outcomes for those affected by FASD.
FASD prevention involves much more than providing information about the risks of alcohol use in pregnancy. There are four levels of FASD prevention and all are important.
What Health Care Providers Can Do:
- Ask about the use of alcohol with all women and girls in their childbearing years
- Ask about alcohol and birth control use together
- Assess consumption of alcohol. Refer to Canada’s Low Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines Brochure
- Advise of reliable birth control, especially when drinking
- Assess mental health (anxiety, stress, difficult life situations, available support)
- Emphasize on harm reduction approaches and FASD prevention
“Brief alcohol interventions and support, before and during pregnancy, is a key strategy to prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).”
– www.bccewh.bc.ca
Refer Frequently Asked Questions for answers to some of the questions often asked by patients about FASD.
Information for Health Care Providers:
- Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction – Drinking Guidelines
- Centre For Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH)
- Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health – Publications: Alcohol & FASD Prevention
- Desk Reference – Drinking Alcohol while Breastfeeding
- Doorways to Conversation: Brief Intervention on Substance Use with Girls and Women
- Guidelines for Healthcare Providers to Promote Low-Risk Drinking Among Patients
- Ontario Drug and Alcohol Registry of Treatment (DART)
- 8 infographic Information for Service Providers (Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health)
Information for Clients:
- Al-Anon/Alateen
- Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
- Drug and Alcohol Helpline
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Health Canada
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects – First Nation and Inuit Health
- It’s a plan – Helping you make decisions about contraception
- Health Before Pregnancy
- Mental Health Helpline
- Recipe Cards – Mocktails for Mom
- Rethink your Drinking
- Saying When app: How to quit drinking or cut down
- Sex and U – contraception