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NOFAS Calls on Surgeon General to Re-issue Alcohol Advisory during Pregnancy
December 19, 2003
Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., VADM, USPHS
The Surgeon General, Office of the Surgeon General
5600 Fisher Lane, Rms. 18-67
Rockville, MD 20857
Dear Dr. Carmona,
There has been a high level of support from those concerned with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) to reissue an advisory against women drinking while pregnant. As the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), the primary advocate of those families struggling with the disease and fighting to prevent it, we encourage any action that increases awareness of the dangers of prenatal alcohol exposure. In this matter, NOFAS heartily supports repeating or strengthening the established Surgeon General's recommendation that women abstain from alcohol while pregnant.
The Surgeon General last addressed this topic in 1981, which later led to a warning on beer cans and alcohol bottles. It was a vital step toward preventing FAS in 1981, and a re-issuance today would be a major opportunity to shed light on a health risk that is very underexposed. For a behavior that permanently damages the brain and nervous system of about 40,000 newborns every year, little is done to ensure women know the risk of drinking while pregnant.
Since 1981, research has been conducted to support the finding that repeated binge drinking-defined as five servings of alcohol in one sitting-during pregnancy can lead to FAS in a child. Also, Sokol, Delaney-Black, and Nordstorm recently cited the harmful effects that even small amounts of prenatal alcohol consumption-0.5 drinks per day-have on a child. While not always resulting in FAS, brain damage and low birth weight have been known to occur from this type of low-level drinking during pregnancy.
Faced with 30 years of research on the harmful effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, it is the hope of NOFAS that the Surgeon General take a bold stance in again advising women to completely abstain from alcohol during pregnancy. We have found that up to 70 percent of health care providers inform prospective mothers that having one or two drinks every so often is not a major health risk for their unborn child. Movies and TV talk shows portray pregnant women drinking without comment, resulting in a passive endorsement of it through their silence. These messages conveyed through the media and everyday authority figures conflict with the consensus of public health officials that women should abstain while pregnant. As a result, we hope that you choose to reissue the advisory at the beginning of 2004.
Thank you for your time and attention on this dire health concern. If you have any questions, would like followup data, or need me to clarify anything in this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. NOFAS is grateful for all that you have done to safeguard the health of every American, and we appreciate everything you can do to reduce prenatal alcohol exposure.
Sincerely,
Thomas Donaldson
Executive Director
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