Counselling women reduces drinking in pregnancy

Counselling women who drink often, can reduce the odds of them drinking through their pregnancy. Alcohol is known to cause birth defects, harming fetal growth and development, including development of the brain and nervous system. The most severe consequence is fetal alcohol syndrome, a lifelong condition that causes physical and mental disabilities. Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that five brief counselling sessions helped high-risk women to both reduce their drinking and start using effective birth control. The researchers followed 830 women who did not use reliable birth control and drank often for 9 months. More than half of the women met the clinical criteria for alcohol dependence, more than 90 percent used illicit drugs and more than 70 percent smoked. The average age of the women was 30 years old, almost half were African American and 51 percent had never been married. Fifty-five percent had annual incomes of less than $20,000. Half of the women were randomly assigned to attend four counselling sessions on drinking and pregnancy and one on birth control options. The rest received educational brochures on drinking and women's health. Of the 830 women who began the study, 593 (71 percent) completed the final interview after 9 months. Women in the counseling group substantially cut their binge-drinking. In addition, 56 percent were using effective birth control, versus 39 percent of women in the comparison group. None of the women in the study were planning on becoming pregnant, but about half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned. Drinking during the first couple months of pregnancy, when many women are unaware they're pregnant exposes the fetus to alcohol when major organ systems are first developing. Therefore, experts advise women who may become pregnant to abstain from drinking including women who are sexually active but don't consistently use reliable birth control. There is no known safe level of drinking during pregnancy.