Supporting Women with FASD who are Pregnant or Parenting

Resource from the College of New Caledonia

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Women who have FASD are considered to be a high risk group for having an alcohol-exposed pregnancy. (For more on this issue, see an earlier post Women with FASD, Substance Use, and FASD Prevention, March 7, 2011).

NAT member Anne Guarasci and colleagues at the College of New Caledonia have developed a resource for front-line workers who work with women who have FASD or FASD behaviours and characteristics. The resource uses stories and examples collected primarily from outreach workers, group facilitators and caregivers in BC’s northern interior region.

The resource was developed as a result of recommendations from Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program, Community Action Plan for Children and Aboriginal Headstart Program frontline workers and coordinators for a resource to help bring clarity to the issue of FASD and provide suggestions for practical strategies and supports. These programs target families with children from 0 to 6 years of age who are considered to be at risk. Many program participants struggle with poverty, unemployment, unstable living conditions, violence and substance misuse and may have difficulty with relationships and parenting.

In addition to the use of individual stories to explore issues for these pregnant and parenting women, there’s a section on facilitating prenatal and parenting groups for participants who may have FASD.

You can download the resource here or from the College of New Caledonia website. You can learn more about the community FASD prevention program Healthier Babies Brighter Futureshere and about the College’s FASD programs here.

Reference:

Guarasci, A. (2011). Empowering Front-Line Staff and Families Through a Collection of Lived Experiences: Supporting women who have FASD behaviours and characteristics and/or other related disabilities. College of New Caledonia: Lakes District Region.

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