Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is a term that describes potentially traumatic events that can have lasting negative effects on health and well-being. Research has shown a clear connection between ACEs on alcohol use and misuse in adults.
An emerging area of research also suggests that a history of childhood stressors, such as physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, may influence alcohol use among pregnant women.
In a recent study, researchers used data from the 2010 Nevada Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to learn more about this relationship. They found a dose–response relationship between ACEs and alcohol use during pregnancy that remained even after controlling for pre-pregnancy drinking and other known factors that influence drinking during pregnancy.
This study contributes to a growing body of research demonstrating that factors affecting alcohol use during pregnancy begin long before pregnancy.
It also suggests the importance of initiatives and movements such as ‘trauma-informed’ practice and their application to FASD prevention. Learn more about trauma-informed practice, alcohol, and pregnancy use on the Coalescing on Women and Substance use website.
For more on this topic, see earlier blog posts from ‘Girls, Women, Alcohol and Pregnancy’:
- What is the role of women’s experiences of violence and trauma on alcohol use during pregnancy? (May 31, 2014)
- Understanding the links between FASD and early life trauma in indigenous communities in Australia (July 11, 2012)
Reblogged from: https://fasdprevention.wordpress.com/