The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #66841

Susan J. Astley, PhD, Departments of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, University of Washington, Room 459, Box 357920, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, (206) 685-9665, astley@u.washington.edu, Sterling K. Clarren, MD, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Box 359300 (CH-47), Seattle, WA 98195, and Diane Bailey, MN, Maternal and Child Health, Washington State Department of Health, 1112 SE Quince Street, PO Box 47890, Olympia, WA 98504-7890.

The incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) can be measurably reduced by targeting interventions to women at highest risk for producing children with FAS. Researchers conducted structured interviews with 80 birth mothers of children diagnosed with FAS using the FAS 4-Digit Diagnostic Code. Researchers documented sociodemographic profiles, social support systems, reproductive history, family planning practices, substance use, alcohol treatment history, IQs, and lifetime psychiatric comorbidities. The interviewees were 68% Caucasian, 24% Native American, and 8% African American or Hispanic. They were, on average, 15 years old when they first started drinking, 23 when they drank the most, 26 at their first attempt to stop drinking, 27 when they gave birth to the index child with FAS, and 35 when their child was diagnosed with FAS. Selected descriptives include: 39% did not complete high school; mean IQ was 91; 95% were sexually and or physically abused; the proportion of pregnancies per woman that were unplanned, had no birth control, or were exposed to alcohol was 73%, 81%, and 73%, respectively; most preferred method of birth control was Depo Provera (32%); and 85% screened positive for three or more psychiatric comorbidities, with PTSD and depression most common. Half had achieved sobriety by the time their child was diagnosed with FAS. Although the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities was equal among the women who did and did not achieve sobriety, women who achieved sobriety were significantly more likely to have received treatment for their psychiatric comorbidities than women who had not achieved sobriety.

Learning Objectives:

• "At the session’s conclusion, participants will be able to:
• 3. Describe the sociodemographic profile of women who gave birth to a child with FAS."
  6. Recognize what characteristics differentiated women who did and did not successfully achieve sobriety."

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment