ARA

Feb 24, 2009

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National Pregnancy Education Week, running from 16 to 28 February, provides The Industry Association for Responsible Alcohol Use (ARA), Foundation for Alcohol Related Research (FARR) and FirstRand Bank with a platform to create awareness on the positive effects that a healthy pregnant mother will have on her unborn child by abstaining from alcohol during pregnancy.

“During the week, our programme, Healthy Mother, Healthy Baby, will also be launched in De Aar in the Northern Cape, the town which currently has the highest reported rate of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in the world at 12%, followed closely by Upington at 8.8%”, says Leana Olivier, CEO of FARR   It is an unfortunate reality that communities with a lower social-economic status tend to have the highest rates of FAS.

“The Healthy Mother, Healthy Baby programme is to guide pregnant women through the process by encouraging attendance at local antenatal clinics, provide education on pregnancy, prepare them for motherhood and educating them on how their behaviour affects their baby.  One of the core elements in our programme is to address the importance of a pregnant woman abstaining from alcohol. It is our intention to provide pregnant women with information for them to understand the long-term effects of their behaviour on the health of their children”, adds Olivier.

“When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, so too does the baby. As a result, the child may be born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) that manifests themselves in various ways such as growth retardation, distinctive facial features or central nervous system deficiencies.  The severity of this disorder will depend on a number of factors such as the quantity of alcohol, the timing and the nutritional status of the mother,” added Olivier.

It has been scientifically proven that the effects of alcohol can damage the fetus throughout pregnancy and is not isolated to a particular trimester, particularly where there is regular intake or binge drinking. Essentially, alcohol consumed by a pregnant woman, moves into her blood stream and is carried to all her organs and tissues passing freely through the placental membrane that separates the maternal and fetal blood systems, delivering the alcohol directly to the developing tissues of the fetus. This alcohol is harmful to the baby and can have a detrimental effect on its development and growth.  

It is for this very reason that ARA and FARR strongly recommend that pregnant women abstain from drinking any alcoholic beverages during pregnancy.

“We firmly believe there is still plenty of research that needs to be done to determine the myriad of health issues related to drinking during pregnancy, as well as what other factors can exacerbate the chances and severity of FASD.  The ARA partnership with FARR shows its continued commitment to educating pregnant women on the importance of abstaining from alcohol consumption.” says Adrian Botha, spokesperson for the ARA.

“ARA’s contribution to FARR assists in the general funding of the organisation’s administration and also provides funding for the FARR Training Academy, which will capacitate caregivers and professionals to recognise and understand the problem of FASD and to implement initiatives that will encourage awareness creation and prevention of FAS”, added Botha.