Abstract
Human malformations caused by alcohol consumption in pregnancy have been recognized as the fetal alcohol syndrome for almost 40 years. Prenatal exposure to ethanol is now established as causing permanent brain alterations leading to lifetime adaptive disability. Prevention approaches have not yet yielded a coherent approach to reducing harm from prenatal alcohol exposure. An important component of the Canada Northwest Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Research Network is to develop and assess research that can inform public policy. FASD prevention is a targeted goal. The Network’s strategic plan for improving FASD prevention efforts has been implemented, and our progress, to date, in developing a coherent approach involves a social interventions approach, which includes: first, provision of information that might effect individual change; second, direct interactions with women deemed to be at high risk for having children with FASD; third, placement of FASD-prevention programs into a social determinant of health context; and fourth, incorporation of concepts for FASD prevention into other types of intervention programs for women who might also be at high risk for having children with FASD.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors wish to recognize the Canada Northwest FASD Partnership and their core funding of the Research Network and this article. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.