NOTES FROM NOFAS
The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
May, 2006
For more information about NOFAS and alcohol and pregnancy please visit our Website at http://www.nofas.org/.
You can make an on-line tax-deductible donation in support of NOFAS programs to prevent FAS and support families touched by the disorder. Visit the NOFAS eStore and contribute today using our secure server.
TOP STORIES
Annual NOFAS Hill Day and Leadership Awards Benefit Rapidly Approaching
The annual NOFAS Hill Day and Benefit are one month away. FASD families and advocates are urged to join the nearly 100 delegates convening in Washington, D.C. to visit with members of Congress and their staff on June 7 and 8.
NOFAS Affiliate Summit
The NOFAS affiliate program continues to grow despite funding challenges, and members of the network will meet in Washington, DC on June 6.
NOFAS Affiliates to Spread FASD Awareness to Community Health Centers
This year NOFAS is focusing on integrating FASD prevention, identification, and intervention in the nation’s Community Health Centers (CHCs). CHCs are the nation's largest public health care delivery system, serving over 6 million persons annually.
NOFAS Reaches Future Doctors with the FASD Message
NOFAS began another session of educating Georgetown University medical students about the consequences of FASD and strategies for preventing and addressing the disorder.
NOFAS Responds to People and US Weekly Magazines
These popular magazines recently published stories about a well known actress drinking during pregnancy. NOFAS was concerned that articles in such visible and widely read magazines could send the wrong message to women so we wrote letters to the editors of both publications.
NOFAS April Events
NOFAS staff presented at several conferences and workshops during the month of April.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Help us keep our National Resource Directory Updated
We are continuously updating our resource directory but need your help. The Directory is online at http://www.nofas.org/resource/directory.aspx Please view the listings for your State, particularly the FASD Diagnostic Resources, and let us know of any additions or changes. Your help will enable us to provide more accurate information for parents and caregivers across the country looking for local support and treatment resources. Email updates to Terrell@nofas.org
The Women’s Health Behavior Project at St. Louis University is Seeking Participants for Research Project
This CDC Funded project is seeking women in the St. Louis, MO metro area to participate in a self-guided behavior modification project that will help them identify, and decrease their risks of having an alcohol exposed pregnancy.
What’s New!
CDC Issues New Guidelines on Preconception Care
Recommendations to Improve Preconception Health and Health Care — United States: A Report of the CDC/ATSDR Preconception Care Work Group and the Select Panel on Preconception Care.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5506a1.htm
The CDC defines Preconception care as interventions that aim to identify and modify biomedical, behavioral, and social risks to a woman’s health or pregnancy outcome through prevention and management, emphasizing those factors which must be acted on before conception or early in pregnancy to have maximal impact. Alcohol use is one of the risk factors targeted in the guidelines.
Identifying women with alcohol use problems and educating them (and all women) on the harmful effect of drinking during pregnancy before they become pregnant is essential to preventing FASD.
The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities has a new webpage devoted to this issue:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/preconception/default.htm
Research Briefs
Ultrasounds Show Mothers’ Drinking Shrinks Fetal Brain
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/520006/
Prenatal alcohol exposure alters GABAAα5 expression: A mechanism of alcohol-induced learning dysfunction
http://www.ajog.org/article/PIIS0002937806001682/abstract
Prenatal alcohol exposure can alter circadian rhythms in offspring
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-04/ace-pae041506.php
Opportunistic screening for alcohol use disorders in primary care: comparative study
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/332/7540/511
Upcoming Conferences and Events
Here are a few events happening in the upcoming months. Know of an event in your area? We would be delighted to post it on our website. Please submit information to terrell@nofas.org
The Impact of FASD on Families, Social Services, Education, and the Legal System
June 8-9, 2006
Sioux City, IA
For more information: 712-279-2548, 1-800-582-0684, or granstrc@mercyhealth.com
Hand In Hand: A Symposium on Multidisciplinary Challenges for Parents, Care Providers and Professionals Involved with FASD
June 14-15, 2006
St. Paul, MN
http://www.mofas.org/trainings.htm#HandInHand
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Into Action
July 13-15, 2006
Portland, OR
http://www.fascets.org/schedule.html
4th Annual STARFISH (Strengthening Texas and Restoring Families, It Starts Here) Conference
July 18-19, 2006
Lubbock, TX
http://www.parentingcottage.com/sf.html
The 2006 Northwest Regional FASD Conference
October 5-6, 2006
Lynwood, WA
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Lara Terrell, MSW, Editor