 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Mary Kate Weber, MPH, Jasjeet Sidhu, MD, MPH, and R. Louise Floyd, DSN, RN. NCBDDD/Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-E86, Atlanta, GA 30333, 404-498-3926, muw1@cdc.gov
Every year in the United States, over 130,000 women are at risk of having an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP). Effective prevention strategies are needed to reduce the incidence of prenatal alcohol exposure. Project CHOICES, a CDC-funded, multisite intervention study of women at risk for an AEP, surveyed 2,672 women, aged 18 to 44 years, in 6 community-based settings. Descriptive analyses were conducted to explore their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding the risks of drinking during pregnancy and to assess their recognition of related health messages. The women reported high levels of knowledge about the risks of drinking during pregnancy, regardless of their risk category. There was greater recognition of the alcoholic beverage warning label in the at-risk group (79%) versus the not-at-risk group (69%) (p<.001). Most women in both groups recalled seeing related health messages on television, in pamphlets, or in magazines. About one-third of the women in each group remembered seeing warning signs in venues that sold alcohol. Approximately half of the women in each group reported hearing about the risks of drinking during pregnancy from their obstetrician or gynecologist; the next highest choice was friend or relative. While both groups reported high levels of knowledge about the dangers of drinking during pregnancy, women in the at-risk group continued to engage in harmful behaviors. More research is needed to determine successful strategies in reaching at-risk women -- moving them from knowledge acquisition to behavior change. Provider education is also needed to increase knowledge and skills in identifying and intervening with women at risk for an AEP.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Birth Defects, Pregnancy Outcomes
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.