The Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and CanFASD Research Network have developed their annual annotated list of research articles on FASD prevention.
As in past years, they searched academic databases for articles about FASD prevention published in English over the past calendar year (in this case between January and December 2020). They organized the articles using the four-level prevention framework, so that those involved in FASD prevention can easily find and consider how to integrate current evidence relevant to their practice and policy work.
This year, one hundred and three (n =103) articles were included, coming from 19 countries/regions.
- 37 articles explored the prevalence of, and influences and factors associated with, alcohol use during pregnancy. Some factors influencing alcohol use in pregnancy described in these articles included depression, partners’ alcohol use, awareness of alcohol harms, awareness of pregnancy status, adverse childhood experiences, availability of support networks, concurrent tobacco smoking, and density of alcohol establishments.
- 3 articles only focussed on awareness raising (Level 1).
- 33 articles described aspects of brief intervention, education and support with women in childbearing years and their support networks (Level 2). Mixed results are still seen for brief interventions, but for some subgroups of women and dual interventions (alcohol + contraception) benefits were found.
- 12 articles explored specialized, holistic support of pregnant women with alcohol and other health and social problems (Level 3), showing the importance of access to these programs and the need for collaboration in their delivery.
- 7 articles described postpartum treatment and support approaches for new mothers and their children (Level 4), and promising approaches were described that included trauma informed and culturally grounded parenting programs.
- 14 articles addressed overarching issues such as the impact of stigma, ethical issues and needed systemic approaches.
