Abstract
Objective: To compare the characteristics of mothers of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) with mothers of typically developing control children. Methods: The study utilized a cross-sectional, observational design, using active case ascertainment. Biological mothers were interviewed using a standardized retrospective questionnaire to collect data on demographics, living environment, pregnancy history, nutrition, alcohol and other drug use prior to and following pregnancy recognition. Results: A total of 173 mothers were interviewed. Of these, 19 had a child who was diagnosed with FASD, five had a child who had received a deferred FASD diagnosis, and 37 had children who were selected into the control group as typically developing children. The remaining 112 mothers had children who did not meet diagnostic criteria for FASD. The mothers of children with FASD did not differ significantly from mothers of the control group children with respect to age, ethnicity, marital status, and employment status at the time of pregnancy. However, mothers of children with FASD had lower levels of education (p < 0.01) and were more likely to have received financial support (p < 0.05) at the time of pregnancy, to have smoked tobacco (p < 0.001), and to have used marijuana or hashish (p < 0.01) prior to pregnancy recognition, compared with mothers of control children. All mothers of children with FASD reported alcohol consumption prior to pregnancy recognition; however, only 10.5% reported alcohol consumption following pregnancy recognition. None of the mothers interviewed reported any drug use following pregnancy recognition. Conclusions: Population-based preventive interventions, including repeated screening, monitoring, and education regarding the effects of alcohol use, as well as other substances, before and during pregnancy, are needed to eliminate risk for FASD and other negative consequences on child and maternal health.
Highlights
Alcohol use during pregnancy is one of the most prevalent substances contributing to a pandemic health problem that affects the health of both the mother and her child [1,2,3]
Given that alcohol use during pregnancy is the cause of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) [4], it is of great concern that the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy has either remained unchanged or increased in many regions of the world over the last few decades [5]
19 had a child who was diagnosed with FASD, five had a child who had received a deferred diagnosis, and 37 had a child who did not demonstrate any deviations from the norms and were assigned to the control group as typically developing children
Summary
Alcohol use during pregnancy is one of the most prevalent substances contributing to a pandemic health problem that affects the health of both the mother and her child [1,2,3]. Recent studies suggest that prenatal exposure to as little as one standard drink per day during pregnancy increases the risk for FASD [6,7,8]. Recent studies using biomarkers in population-based samples suggest that one in 12 women continue to drink until the end of pregnancy, representing a large public health problem [5,9]. Recent global estimates demonstrate that FASD is a common condition—with a global prevalence of 7.7 per 1000 children and youths [10]. In Canada, FASD is currently more common (2–3%) [11]) than autism (1.5%) [12] and is especially prevalent in children in foster care, special education, residential care, and juvenile corrections systems [13]
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