FASD News - 33/2011

NEWS AND ARTICLES

Lethbridge Herald (Canada) - Balancing FASD-justice scales

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder represents a major challenge to the court system, as detailed in The Herald's recent two-part look at FASD and justice.
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Jewish Tribune (Canada) - Universities team up for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder research

The University of Manitoba has teamed up with Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Manitoba government to support a new research collaboration to address fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
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Canada Views (Canada) - Alberta recognizes International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day

September 9 is International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day. Each year on the ninth day of the ninth month, this day serves as a reminder to people around the world that during the nine months of pregnancy, a woman should abstain from alcohol.
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Bangkok Post (Thailand) - Drinking alcohol while pregnant

A survey of 772 pregnant women in nine provinces across the country by the Centre for Alcohol Studies (CAS) showed 12.6% of them drank during pregnancy.
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National Affairs (Australia) - Starved of their future at birth

ABORIGINAL babies born into families on the margins of society are our most vulnerable citizens. Unable to feed themselves and given insufficient nutrition they suffer hunger and are unable to develop normally.
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Dynamic Chiropractic - Substance Abuse: A Prenatal-to-Grave Public Health Issue

Deaths from substance use and abuse exceed in number deaths caused by all other diseases. Doctors of chiropractic nationwide have added substance testing (and education) as a service promoting healthful living or the restoration of health and wellness for patients.
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Times of India - Binge drinkers have sex they later regret

A new study has found that binge drinking puts teenage girls at risk of having unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancies and contracting sexually-transmitted diseases.
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Nigerian Tribune (Nigeria) - How mothers can avoid having babies with birth defects

Most babies with birth defects are born with no obvious health problems or risk factors. Nonetheless, experts say part of what women can do to ensure that they do not have babies with  birth defects, such as spina bifida, include adopting good lifestyles, as well as using folic acids supplements at least three months before getting pregnant, reports Sade Oguntola.
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theWEST.com.au (Australia) - GG makes historic visit to Kimberley town

Governor-General Quentin Bryce has flown into Fitzroy Crossing this morning - the first such official visit to the Kimberley town in more than a decade. Mrs Bryce, a famed feminist, will visit Marninwartikura Women's Resource Centre and meet participants in the Lililwan Project, which aims to document the extent of children affected by foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD.
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Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand) - Booze and babies are a harmful mix

There is no safe amount of alcohol nor safe time to drink while pregnant according to Alcohol HealthWatch. The organisation has teamed up with Northland District Health Board and ran a series of hui last month to teach health and community workers about alcohol and pregnancy.
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COMING UP

FETAL ALCOHOL & OTHER NEUROBEHAVIORAL CONDITIONS: Understanding & Application of a Brain-Based Approach

This session provides information about FASD and the effects of other drugs on behaviors of children, adolescents and adults.
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fasdprevention blog - Getting ready for FASD Awareness Day 2011 – September 9

On the ninth day of the ninth month of the year, the world will remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should abstain from drinking alcohol.
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www.Tweet4FASD.com and International FASD Awareness Day

To bring FASD awareness to Twitter users around the world, I am asking everyone with a Twitter account to Tweet the following on September 9, 2011:

"#FASD is preventable! Alcohol in pregnancy can cause brain damage, learning problems, more. Don't drink while pregnant. http://www.vimeo.com/27342419"
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MATERIALS

Common Misinterpretation of Normal Responses in Students with FASD

Tip sheet for teachers working with students with FASD.
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VIDEO - Hunter's Story: Overcoming FASD

Hunter was diagnosed at the age of 15 with FASD. His journey is an incredible one - this video gives a brief glimpse into his life and how he has "turned something that could have been a weakness, into a strength". Hunter inspires us all!
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Tom Daschle on NOFAS – Full Senate Floor Speech
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RESEARCH

Womens Health - Preconception Markers of Dual Risk for Alcohol and Smoking Exposed Pregnancy: Tools for Primary Prevention

Effective preconception primary prevention strategies are needed for women who are at dual risk for alcohol and smoking exposed pregnancies. The current study seeks to identify risk factors that can be used to target intervention strategies at women who are at dual risk.
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Addiction - Mortality among Substance-using Mothers in California: A 10-year Prospective Study

To examine mortality rates and causes of death among a cohort of substance-using mothers and to identify risk factors that predict mortality. This is a prospective study of a cohort of 4,447 substance-using mothers (pregnant or parenting) who were enrolled during 2000 to 2002 in 40 drug abuse treatment programs across California.
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IN OTHER LANGAUGES

EZ Rome - Roma quotidiana (Italy) - Il Professore Nicola Surico e la campagna “Se aspetti un bambino l’alcol può attendere”

La vita è un valore da difendere fin “dalle sue origini” con comportamenti e scelte concrete. I rischi connessi all’uso e all’abuso di alcol durante il periodo della gravidanza passa, oggi, più che mai, attraverso campagne di informazioni e di sensibilizzazione rivolte alle donne, alle loro famiglie e agli operatori sanitari, in particolare ginecologi e ostetriche.
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