Aims

To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

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Sunday, May 8, 2011

FASD News - 19/2011



Wales Online (Wales) - Birth defects caused by drinking in pregnancy soar in Wales
THE number of babies born with birth defects linked to women drinking too much alcohol during pregnancy has risen by 10% in Wales in a year. Although the numbers remain small, the sharp rise in cases of foetal alcohol syndrome has been met with concern by experts.
Wwl.com (USA) - New mom angered by questions about abortion, smoking and drinking
Should new moms be required to tell the state if they smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol during pregnancy? How about if they have ever had an abortion? "The ACLU of Louisiana called on the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals today to clarify that new mothers do not have to disclose private medical information before birth certificates are issued for their newborns," said Executive Director Marjorie Esman in a news release.
Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand) - Making better babies
LoulaGeorge was surprised by the attention given to an announcement by the prime minister's chief science adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman, that he had discovered a link between a mother's diet during pregnancy and the chances of her baby later being obese.
Daily Press (USA) - Substance-abuse program helps pregnant women deliver healthy babies
Nicole Billiot faced a choice: Go to jail, or go to the South-Eastern Family Project. She chose the latter. As a result, she will give her baby the chance to be born drug and alcohol free.
KSBY San Luis Obispo News (USA) - Program may have to help fewer kids who 'got a hard start in the world'
A program that helps local children who suffered parental abuse before they were even born faces severe budget cuts. Martha's Place, in San Luis Obispo, specializes in treating kids up to age 5 born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. It also helps children abused as infants.
Cape Breton Post (Australia) - Bar association president offers insight on several initiatives
The president of the Canadian Bar Association has some key initiatives he’ll be working on during his term including discussions on how best to deal with offenders suffering with fetal alcohol syndrome and how to make the justice system more accessible to the middle class.
Northern News Services (Canada) - Manual offers tips to employers on helping workers with FASD
The Yellowknife Association for Community Living has created a manual, FASD -- A Practical Guide For Employers, to help educate businesses about the disorder and ways they can accommodate employees with the condition.

RESEARCH:
Western Journal of Nursing Research - Effects of a Motivational Interviewing Intervention to Decrease Prenatal Alcohol Use
This study determined the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) to decrease prenatal alcohol use, while examining mechanisms of behavior change based on self-determination theory that may have evoked decreases in drinking behaviors.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs - Field Trial of Alcohol-Server Training for Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Supplemental responsible beverage service training for alcohol servers to aid in the prevention of fetal alcohol exposure can be effective in reducing the serving of alcohol to visibly pregnant women, with robust effects continuing over the subsequent year in the New Mexico establishments.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs - Effects of Premature Birth on the Risk for Alcoholism Appear to Be Greater in Males Than Females
The results suggest that neurodevelopmental sequelae of premature birth are associated with gender-specific effects on the development of alcoholism in the male baby: small, premature, or growth-delayed male babies appear to be selectively vulnerable to alcoholic drinking years later. The findings implicate neurodevelopmental influences in alcoholism pathophysiology in males and suggest the possibility of distinct, gender-specific pathways in the etiology of severe problem drinking.

MATERIALS
VIDEOCAST:
CC Grand Rounds Lecture: (1) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Etiology, Epidemiology, and Advances in Diagnosis (2) Nicotine Pharmacology Versus Nicotine Addiction: Different Sites, Different Mechanisms
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
(1) Kenneth R. Warren, PhD, Acting Director, NIAAA
(2) Elliot A. Stein, PhD, Chief, Neuroimaging Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, NIDA
SOMETHING FROM LONG TIME AGO: IHE Consensus Development Conference
PUBLICATIONS:
Three recent publications available from Public Health Agency of Canada’s FASD Initiative
Early primary school outcomes associated with maternal use of alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy and with exposure to parent alcohol and tobacco use postnatally
An Inventory of Education and Training Programs: FASD and the Judicial/Criminal Justice System
Assessment and Diagnosis of FASD Among Adults: A National and International Systematic Review

CONTROVERSIAL:
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies - Ban Baby-Making Unless Parents Are Licensed
For the sake of the children, let’s control human breeding. No one should be permitted to reproduce until they pass a battery of tests. Does that proposal enrage you? Go ahead, hate me. Call me vile names like “Neo-Nazi-Elitist-Baby-Killing-Totalitarian-Sicko.” Or simply “Eugenicist.” I don’t care. I know I’m right.

IN OTHER LANGUAGES:
Kehitysvammaliitto (Finland) - Uusi kirja raskaudenaikaisesta alkoholinkäytöstä ja sen aiheuttamista sikiövaurioista
Mitä jos äiti joi raskauden aikana? Minkälaisia vaurioita lapselle voi tulla ja minkälaista on alkoholin vaurioittaman lapsen elämä? Näihin kysymyksiin vastaa VTL Suvi Vaarlan toimittama teos Alkoholin vaurioittamat. Raskaudenaikaisen alkoholinkäytön vaikutukset lapsen elämään. (Kehitysvammaliitto 2011).
DELFI.lv (Latvia) - Augļa alkohola sindroms
Augļa alkohola sindroms ir grūtniecības laikā lietoto alkoholisko dzērienu radītās etanola sekas bērnam. Augļa alkohola sindromu, kas iekļauts arī Starptautiskajā slimību klasifikatorā, raksturo triāde.