Saskatchewan conference underway to raise FASD awareness

Watch above: Professionals discuss fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

SASKATOON – It is entirely preventable yet, tragically, three babies were born with this disability weekly in Saskatchewan last year.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is caused when a pregnant woman drinks alcohol and is the major focus of a two-day conference currently underway in Saskatoon.

Experts say FASD research is ongoing in regards to: at what stage in a women’s pregnancy the unborn baby is affected, why women drink and what can be done to help children born with it.

At present, what is known about FASD is that problems caused may vary from child to child. It’s a lifelong disability with no cure and the early diagnosis can reduce the risk of problems such as learning difficulties and behavioral issues.

“I started to see those three to four hour meltdowns could happen, definitely connecting cause and effect isn’t there,” said Shana Mohr, community education coordinator with the FASD Support Network of Saskatchewan.

“She often gets stuck on stuff, she definitely has some memory deficits going on so seeing all those different types of behaviors definitely she fits on the spectrum but like I said when we understand her disability we’ve been able to put the supports and interventions into place and now she’s flourishing.”

Mohr’s adopted daughter, who is now six, started to show signs of FASD at the age of two.

Although the child has not been formally diagnosed, screening is recommended between the ages of six-and-a-half and seven as signs are more prevalent. Mohr says there has been confirmation of prenatal alcohol exposure.

She says it’s now her goal to educate people about FASD and break down the shame and stigma attached to it.

“Maybe some women don’t even know that they’re pregnant and they drink for three months or four months and they find out their pregnant, the damage can already be done. Maybe they’re dealing with addictions, maybe they’re in unsupportive relationships, maybe they’re living with FASD themselves,” explained Mohr.

“It goes way, way deeper in our society so we can’t just make it so simple; we really have to have understanding and compassion for birth moms who have babies living with FASD.”

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According to officials, 55,000 people in the province live with FASD and it’s hard to determine if those rates are going down.

“A lot of the cases are undiagnosed and you have to have confirmation of maternal alcohol consumption and of course as we know there’s a stigma about drinking during pregnancy and women are not necessarily willing to admit that they have consumed alcohol,” said Leslie Allen, executive director of the FASD Support Network of Saskatchewan.

“So unless they have that confirmation you can’t make that diagnosis.”

Experts say 50 per cent of pregnancies are unplanned and some women are unaware they are even pregnant until they’re eight weeks along.

“One of our high risk populations are university students who binge drink and so they’ve had a couple of episodes of binge drinking and it’s been shown that even one episode of binge drinking can actually cause effects of FASD,” explained Allen.

Experts say no amount of alcohol during pregnancy is safe but for some moms it’s not that simple to stop.

“There are supports and services out there but it’s really up to the individual to have to want to have to access them and in a position to access them,” added Allen.

While this can be frustrating for families to sit idly by and watch, officials say seek out support for the mother and be there for her.

“Bottom line is, to always acknowledge that it is personal choice, we all have personal choices and a lot of times we may not make the type of choice that somebody else really feels that we should be making.”