What communities can do toward FASD prevention

Communities are key actors in our collective work to prevent FASD. They can be part of raising awareness, creating local alcohol policies, and working with public health on promoting health. All community-led work can benefit from listening to women’s health advocates so that gender equitable approaches are advanced. Here are some ideas for communities to support healthy pregnancies and FASD prevention:

Raise awareness

One role of community leaders is to be part of building awareness of the risks associated with alcohol use. Educational posters, point of sale information and many other ways of raising awareness can be undertaken by municipal, Indigenous and other local community leaders, in collaboration with community-based educators, service providers and activists.

Women need to know:

• The risks of alcohol use related to their physical health – Female bodies break down and absorb alcohol faster than male bodies. This is due to smaller average body size, smaller organs, less body water, different hormonal effects and lower amounts of gastric enzymes that break down alcohol. As a result, equivalent amounts of alcohol can cause more serious harms to health for females, compared to males.

• The risks of alcohol use related to social safety – Alcohol can result in the increased perpetration of violence, and increase vulnerability to sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

• The risks of alcohol use in pregnancy – Alcohol use in pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, placenta previa and other maternal and fetal health conditions. Prenatal alcohol exposure increases the risk of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and lifelong health concerns for their child.

Local alcohol policy

Communities can enact alcohol policies that reduce harms associated with public alcohol use.  Some examples of alcohol policy that support reduction of alcohol-related harms for women:

• Ensuring that women and children can access parks, beaches, and other public spaces that are alcohol free.

• Making local policy on how alcohol is sold at community events such as festivals, and how safe transportation is made available.

• Enacting bylaws requiring point of sale warnings about health impacts and risks of alcohol use in pregnancy.

Some communities have also enacted overall community alcohol strategies designed to create a culture of community health and safety, and meaningful engagement in reducing harms.

Promote health

Learn more

Communities can take an active role in health promotion, working with local public health to increase community health and wellness, and preventing injury, illness and premature death. Community service providers can be supported to ensure that alcohol risks are discussed in the course of their work as physicians, midwives, public health nurses, and as Indigenous wellness, sexual health, anti-violence, pregnancy outreach and substance use workers. It is key that everyone is comfortable discussing alcohol use, engaging in  non-judgemental ways, and ready and willing to share information about reducing alcohol use, local counselling services, and support groups.

Bring people together

Community leaders can bring people together to inform their actions, and to facilitate information sharing and collaboration on reducing the risks of alcohol, including FASD prevention in their local area. Engaging representatives of local women’s organizations such as violence against women shelters and pregnancy outreach programs can be helpful when designing local initiatives, so that they directly address the influences on women’s alcohol use, and prevent stigma directed to women who drink.   

A recent webinar sponsored by Healthy Communities BC provides more information on how local communities are engaging in alcohol policy making.