Campaign targets alcohol-caused defects

AWARENESS: Arc Riverside campaigns to prevent alcohol-induced fetal birth defects.

11:27 PM PDT on Saturday, July 9, 2005

By CLAUDIA BUSTAMANTE / The Press-Enterprise

An unprecedented public-awareness campaign against the leading cause of mental retardation officially launches this month.

Arc Riverside 's NineZero project, aimed at preventing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, attempts to persuade teens and young adults not to drink if pregnant because of the harmful effects to the developing baby associated with it.

The project began as an experiment in peer teaching in Moreno Valley high schools in 2001. It has since been revamped to include an interactive Web site and red bracelets as a reminder of the pledge -- nine months, zero alcohol. At the project's core remain the educational lessons taught by high school upperclassmen to younger students with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation and other visuals.

"We teach freshmen because they are sexually active and because they are the next generation of parents," said Jim Stream , executive director of Arc Riverside.

Making the Pledge

The local campaign has caught the eye of Arc's national headquarters. Arc, a Baltimore-based organization, is devoted to promoting and improving services for people with developmental disabilities.

"We applaud the Arc of Riverside's imaginative campaign," Leo Berggreen , president of The Arc of the United States , said in an e-mail. "Teens need to be aware that drinking while pregnant can cause significant harm to a baby."

Though primarily targeted to teens in high school, the program has snowballed and been ordered by middle schools, alternative schools that accommodate pregnant women, and even elementary schools. Riverside Community College may begin teaching NineZero in the fall.

"We've gotten schools from New York (that) call that want to get the material," Stream said.

Participants are supposed to pledge that if they are or become pregnant, they won't drink alcohol. And that if they drink, they won't get pregnant.

Preventable Disorder

Approximately one in 100 babies born has developmental damage associated with FASD, according to the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a recently coined term that encompasses a range of effects -- physical, behavioral, mental and/or learning disabilities -- associated with prenatal exposure to alcohol. It refers to fetal alcohol syndrome -- characterized by growth deficiencies, facial abnormalities and neurological damage -- along with fetal alcohol effects, alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder and alcohol-related birth defects.

FASD is one of the most prevalent developmental disorders, Stream said, but the trouble is that it is usually called something else, such as attention deficit disorder or even autism, the fastest-growing developmental disease.

FASD is the leading, yet preventable, cause of mental disability in the nation, but it goes largely undiagnosed.

"That's what made it difficult for people to realize the depths of the problem," said Eva Carner , project coordinator at Arc Riverside. "Unless they have physical abnormalities, they have difficulty identifying it."

U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona recently reported that the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome is between 0.5 and 2 out of 1,000 births. Furthermore, he estimated that for every child born with the syndrome, three additional babies are born who may not have the syndrome's physical characteristics but still experience deficits that affect learning and behavior.

Carmona recommended to err on the side of caution and that the mother-to-be should abstain from alcohol. His recommendation runs counter to previous messages that say some level of moderate drinking was permissible.

In many situations, the alcohol-related damage occurs before the woman is even aware that she is pregnant.

Problems Studied

Carner, whose 27-year-old foster son, Rick , has FASD, said that it was a unique problem that had not been dealt with until NineZero.

"For many years, I had expectations that with proper motivation he could change," Carner said. "It was quite a shock when I realized that he wasn't going to change."

The behavioral effects could include aggression, hyperactivity, poor coordination and memory problems.

A study by the University of Washington 's Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit found that many people with prenatal alcohol exposure also had social problems. Sixty percent had been expelled or suspended or had quit before graduating high school. Another 60 percent of men had trouble with the law, including 35 percent who were imprisoned. Twenty-three percent had been committed to a mental institution, and 15 percent had been in drug- and alcohol-treatment programs. Overall, about half had been involuntarily confined in prison, an institution or a treatment center.

"I keep dreaming for the day that something will bring this issue to the national forefront," Carner said. "Over half of women that could become pregnant at any moment are drinking, and 12.5 percent are drinking at rates that have been known to cause damage."

Reach Claudia Bustamante at (951) 368-9583 or cbustamante@pe.com

Resources:

NineZero web site: http://ninezero.org

For resources on support systems, services or diagnosis for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, visit:

www.nofas.org/resource/

directory/aspx

Arc Riverside can be reached at (951) 688-5141 or at www.arcriverside.org