Abstract
Understanding the explanatory narratives that women, partners and family members provide for consuming alcohol during pregnancy is essential in interventions. This paper reports on the stories of 25 participants in a low-resource area. Explanations included lack of partner support (not providing financially, being unfaithful, denying paternity), stress (HIV diagnosis, unwanted pregnancy, poverty), trauma (rape, death and crime), and a drinking culture (unregulated taverns, availability of liquor, peer pressure). Interventions should work with the gender norms; provide services or referrals for trauma; provide non-judgmental counselling; and target drinking in general in the community so as to reduce drinking culture.
Highlights
Drinking during pregnancy can result in children experiencing lifelong developmental delays, disabilities, mental deficiencies and physical anomalies which are collectively referred to as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs)
In line with Olusanya and Barry’s (2015) call for more qualitative research on this topic in South Africa, this study investigated the narratives of women who have consumed alcohol during their pregnancies, as well as the narratives of the partners and family members of such women
(Hinsberger, Sommer, Kaminer, Holtzhausen, Weierstall, Seedat, Madikane & Elbert, 2016). It is within this context that we outline themes in which participants either explained or justified women’s drinking during pregnancy. These explanations included: the lack of partner support; stress in relation to being diagnosed with HIV; carrying an unwanted pregnancy, poverty; trauma as a result of crime or death of close ones; and a drinking culture in the community fuelled by peer pressure
Summary
Drinking during pregnancy can result in children experiencing lifelong developmental delays, disabilities, mental deficiencies and physical anomalies which are collectively referred to as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Research conducted on alcohol use during pregnancy has identified various risk factors, including maternal characteristics, behavioural factors, drinking exposure, socio-cultural factors, and environmental factors (May & Gossage, 2011). Most of these studies have, been quantitative. Qualitative research is required to understand the meaning women ascribe to drinking during pregnancy in order to inform interventions. This is important in the light of Myers & Vythilingum’s (2012:77) observation that “female substance users often have more complex and varied treatment needs than their male counterparts”
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