What Doctors Can Do
Sometimes in order to be compassionate, a doctor will need to discuss the hard facts of a condition with a patient and in doing so will initially create distress. Should a doctor not be courageous enough to do this, a great deal of harm can be done inadvertently. Continue Reading »
Pregnancy & Alcohol Cessation Toolkit (PACT)
An Education Resource for Health Professionals
A collaborative project between Alcohol Healthwatch and the University of Otago, funded by the Ministry of Health
To facilitate the capability of health professionals to have these consultations in everyday clinical practice ‘The Pregnancy and Alcohol Cessation Toolkit (PACT) Educational Resource’ has been developed.
EXPERTISE: The PACT has been developed by members of a Working Group comprised of experts in Addiction Medicine, Midwifery, General Practice including Practice Nursing, Paediatrics, Psychiatry and Public Health and through consultation with a broad range of key stakeholders organisations in the health sector (see acknowledgements).
Also view videos from the NZ Breakfast Show with Chris Rogan the project Coordinator and from Professor Doug Sellman
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
A survey of a random sample of 4719 women, who gave birth in WA between 1995 and 1997, collected information such as how often they drank alcohol, the amount of alcohol consumed in each occasion and the types of alcoholic beverage consumed.
Results show that pregnant women who drink more than one to two standard drinks per occasion and more than six standard drinks per week increase their risk of having a premature baby, even if they stop drinking before the second trimester. The risk of preterm birth is highest for pregnant women who drink heavily or at binge levels, drinking more than seven standard drinks per week, or more than five drinks on any one occasion.
In 2009, following the release of the Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol, we reviewed, revised and reprinted our alcohol and pregnancy resources for health professionals. They have now been distributed extensively across Western Australia and we have made them available to health professionals throughout Australia. The resources are available to download here
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