“Adverse impact of drinking during pregnancy highlighted by health ... - News-Medical.Net” plus 4 more

Adverse impact of drinking during pregnancy highlighted by health ... - News-Medical.Net
Pregnancy myths not yet bumped off - Irish Examiner
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day - Scoop
Number of SWFL pregnant teens on the rise - NBC 2
New President for Voice For Life Inc - Scoop

Adverse impact of drinking during pregnancy highlighted by health ... - News-Medical.Net

Posted: 08 Sep 2009 10:04 PM PDT

In recognition of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health today reminded women about the serious implications of drinking while pregnant.

"Studies show that 50 percent of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and many women consume alcohol before they realize they are pregnant," Deputy Secretary Janice Kopelman said during an event hosted by Gaudenzia's Vantage House for Women. "Women of childbearing age need to be aware of how drinking can affect an unborn child. It is extremely important for women to monitor their alcohol use if they are able to conceive children."

Alcohol use during pregnancy is a leading cause of preventable birth defects and developmental difficulties in children including growth deficits; mental retardation; heart, lung and kidney defects; specific facial characteristics; hyperactivity and behavior problems; attention and memory problems; and learning disabilities. The range of effects caused by maternal alcohol use during pregnancy is collectively referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD.

"The effects of these disorders are far reaching and serious and yet, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is 100 percent preventable," added Kopelman. "We need to continue to educate and inform individuals about this disorder."

Health care service providers offered prevention and intervention information during the event. In addition, Bloomsburg University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and various state and county agencies are joining the department to promote broader public awareness of this disorder.

Source: http://www.state.pa.us

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Pregnancy myths not yet bumped off - Irish Examiner

Posted: 08 Sep 2009 05:46 PM PDT

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 Previous editions

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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day - Scoop

Posted: 08 Sep 2009 06:29 PM PDT

09 September 2009
Press Release

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day

The message the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) is sending this International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum (FASD) Disorder Awareness Day, is that drinking even a small amount of alcohol during pregnancy is not worth the risk.

Research has shown that many women are unaware of the threat that even low level alcohol consumption poses to the development of an unborn child.

Drinking at any time during pregnancy can lead to a variety of problems - including growth restriction, intellectual disability and physical birth defects.

"Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is completely preventable," says NCWNZ National President Elizabeth Bang, "but since the severity of the disorder does not necessarily correspond to the level of alcohol intake, the only way to be 100 per cent safe is to avoid alcohol altogether".

NCWNZ supports the application for health advisory labels put forward to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) in 2006 by the Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC), but is disappointed that this application has been connected with a separate application relating to excessive drinking.

NCWNZ believes these applications should be treated as separate labelling issues, since FASD is not linked to excessive drinking. Combining these two applications has only served to slow the process down.

"There is a lack of consistency in the messages women are receiving around the potential impact that drinking while pregnant can have on the rest of your life," according to Elizabeth Bang. "Labelling alcohol containers to caution against drinking during pregnancy will increase awareness and potentially have a life changing impact for the mothers and children of the future".

ENDS

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Number of SWFL pregnant teens on the rise - NBC 2

Posted: 08 Sep 2009 09:07 PM PDT

CAPE CORAL: The number of teen mothers in Southwest Florida and across the country is on the rise. A report from the Centers for Disease Control says teen pregnancies jumped three-percent in 2006 and that number hadn't increased since the early 90s.

We spoke to a pregnant teen named Lucie who said her life has done a 180 in the last year.

"I didn't know where my next meal was going to come from and I didn't know where I'd be sleeping the next day," she said.

Lucie is part of a rapidly growing number of teen moms turning to Cape Coral's Life Line Family Center for help during a crisis pregnancy.

Officials with the shelter say they are overwhelmed. They took 122 crisis calls from pregnant teens in 2008. This year, they're already at 107.

Life Line officials say demand for their services is up so much, soon all of their rooms will be fitted with an extra bed to fit twice as many girls.

The center is also adding more cribs for each mom-to-be.

"We're seeing a lot of them come and need assistance while they already have a toddler in tow," said Life Line's Ministry Development Director Nanette Scoville.

According to the Lee County Department of Health, the number of Lee County teens giving birth to their second child is higher than the state average. And Lucie said the reasons are troubling.

"Getting pregnant is more like a fashion statement now. People are getting pregnant because their friends are getting pregnant and they think that it's cool, but it's not," she said.

Scoville says the problem is all in the family and it's growing exponentially.

"Most of the young women who come in here who are in a crisis pregnancy, they're third or fourth generation fatherless, so they don't know any different," she said.

And while the problem grows, donations to the center are down one-third this year compared to last. For now though, the shelter is struggling.

Lucie is headed to college in the spring and both determined to break the cycle.

"It's all about being a positive person and knowing that I do have a future so she can see that, so she knows she has a future," she said.

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New President for Voice For Life Inc - Scoop

Posted: 08 Sep 2009 04:56 PM PDT

New President for Voice For Life Inc

Media Release

09 September 2009, Wellington

At its recent Conference and AGM, pro-life organisation Voice For Life Inc appointed Gisborne Chartered Accountant, Catherine Gillies to the position of National President.

Catherine has had a long association with Voice For Life and frequently speaks to community groups and professional associations on the hidden impact of abortion and how unsupportive attitudes towards unplanned pregnancy can be the catalyst for a lifetime of destructive behaviour.

"Many women are directed to make a life-changing decision at a time when they are in crisis and under intolerable pressure," she says. "The reality is that the decision to deliberately end a pregnancy is life-changing for everyone. Abortion means that a child conceived is never born and a woman once pregnant has lost a child."

Catherine would like to see better information available to women and their families on what their options truly are when facing an unplanned pregnancy. She believes Voice For Life has a huge role to play in developing networks of professional support which connect women and men with practical help.

She comments, "Women are faced with hard decisions. It is hard for a woman to acknowledge she is unable to raise her child on her own and to see that child adopted into another family. It is hard to imagine welcoming a child into a household already under pressure and it is hard to resolve the long-term issues of walking away from a pregnancy."

Outside of her accountancy practice, Catherine continues to act as a voluntary post-abortion counsellor. "An experience of abortion is borne at great cost and the experience of sitting alongside a woman as she works through and resolves what an abortion decision has meant in her life can be deeply moving," she says.

Catherine takes over the role of President from Mrs Annetta Moran of Auckland who, in her final report to the National Conference, commended the, "Faithful activity by many to raise the conscience of New Zealanders against one of the horrors in history – the steady acceptance of abortion as a 'normal option' for an unplanned pregnancy." Mrs Moran commented also that the groundwork has been laid for a 'more informed' future.

ENDS