Training Session: Prevention of FAS/FAE

“The blood of grandfather and grandmother flows through us.
Their blood has many gifts.”

Marilyn Dalton - Licensed Practical Nurse from Campbell River, British Columbia.
Marilyn is part of the Campbell River Action Group on
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

FAS/FAE has devastating effects on Aboriginal communities. Alcohol
damages the mind and body of the unborn baby and can affect the
baby throughout life. Alcohol’s effects on the unborn baby can cause
mental retardation, a deformed body, and serious behavioural defects.
This damage cannot be undone. The alcohol the mother consumes
goes directly to the unborn baby across the placenta. The damage to
the fetus from alcohol is more powerful than the damage from cocaine.

Unfortunately, alcohol is the most widely abused drug in the world.
Approximately 16 per cent of women drink enough during pregnancy to put
their unborn child at risk for some types of fetal alcohol effects (FAE).
It is not as if these women are purposely trying to harm their babies, but
rather they often lack the education necessary to know what harm they
may be causing. Consuming alcohol during pregnancy greatly
increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and death in early infancy.
There is no safe amount of alcohol consumption and no safe time to
drink during pregnancy. Even low levels of alcohol exposure cause FAS/FAE.

FAS statistics for individuals between 12-51 years old:

95 per cent of FAS affected individuals will have mental health problems
60 per cent will have a destructive school experience
60 per centwill have trouble with the law
55 per cent will be confined to prisons, drug or alcohol treatment
centres or mental institutions
52 per cent will exhibit inappropriate sexual behaviours

FAE statistics for individuals between 21-51 years old:

More than 60 per cent of males and 70 per cent of females with FAE
will have alcohol and/or drug problems
70 per cent will have trouble maintaining employment
82 per cent will be unable to live independently

FAS/FAE is one of the three leading causes of birth defects but
unlike Down’s Syndrome and Spina Bifida, it is 100% avoidable.
Education is necessary to help prevent FAS/FAE and CHRs play an
important role in providing that education. In British Columbia alone, an average
of 136 babies a year are born with FAS and 680 with FAE. Over the
course of a lifetime, FAS costs $1 million dollars per child to manage.