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ABSTRACT
Background: Drinking patterns among Russian women indicate substantial risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancies. Data about women’s knowledge and attitudes related to alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the extent to which women’s knowledge and attitudes affect their alcohol use remain limited. Objectives: To describe Russian women’s knowledge and attitudes and assess whether women’s knowledge and attitudes were associated with their risky drinking. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to women of childbearing age (n = 648). Participants were recruited at women’s health clinics and asked about their alcohol consumption, pregnancy status, attitudes, and knowledge about effects of alcohol and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Results: 40% of the women surveyed believed or were uncertain whether alcohol consumption during pregnancy was acceptable. Although 34% had heard of FAS, only 8% possessed accurate knowledge. Correct knowledge was associated with decreased alcohol consumption among pregnant women, but there was no association between knowledge and risky drinking in nonpregnant women, including those who were at risk for an unplanned pregnancy or were trying to conceive. However attitudes were strongly associated with risky drinking by nonpregnant women across levels of knowledge about FAS and any alcohol use by pregnant women. Conclusions: Russian women had limited knowledge and several misconceptions about the effects of alcohol on the fetus, and risky alcohol consumption was strongly associated with women’s attitudes and knowledge. The study provides strong evidence to support continuing public health education about effects of alcohol use during pregnancy. Correcting specific misconceptions and targeting the preconceptional period in health communications are necessary to reduce at-risk drinking and the risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancies.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Lee Ann Kaskutas, DrPH, of the Alcohol Research Group; Ulrik Kesmodel, MD, PhD, of University of Aarhus, Denmark; Marcia Russell, PhD, of Prevention Research Center; and Robert Sokol, MD, of Wayne State University School of Medicine for consultations on measures and acknowledge the contributions of Karen Beckman, MD, John Mulvihill, MD, and Mark Wolraich, MD, of OUHSC; and Jacqueline Bertrand, PhD, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for their consultation and support to conducting the international study. The authors wish to thank Som Bohora, MS, and Kathy Kyler, MS, of OUHSC for technical assistance with the manuscript preparation. Finally, the authors want to thank Maria Potapova, Maxim Gusev, Olga Gluzdova, Oksana Maslennikova, and other graduate students from St. Petersburg State University, Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University, and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center who assisted with data collection and database management and all the women who volunteered to participate in the study.
Funding
The study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and Fogarty International Center (Brain Disorders in the Developing World: Research Across the Lifespan) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Awards R21TW006745 and R01AA016234. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIH. There was no involvement of a pharmaceutical or other company. Mr. Som Bohora, MS, and Ms. Kathy Kyler, MS, of OUHSC provided technical assistance with the manuscript preparation.