Liquor retailers in Alberta are being asked to play a vital role in a campaign aimed at combating Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The Alberta Liquor Store Association recently sent stores pamphlets, decals and posters warning pregnant women of the severe danger posed to their unborn children by drinking alcohol. It's all part of the $1 million Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) initiative announced last April by Dr. Lyle Oberg, Minister of Alberta Family and Social Services. Alberta is joining forces with Saskatchewan and Manitoba in the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) prevention campaign. The Alberta Liquor Store Association was approached by the province to distribute advertising material.

Greg Krischke, president of the association, says the government wanted the help of liquor retailers in raising awareness of FAS. Krischke says the association agreed it could play an important role in that. As responsible retailers and as an industry that is concerned about responsible consumption, we feel that it's important to assist in getting this message out to the public.

Krischke indicated he had not yet received any feedback from individual liquor retailers as to how supportive of the FAS campaign they will be, but that generally they accept initiatives supported by the association. He admits that some retailers may be reluctant to participate in a program that could result in reduced sales, but says most liquor store owners see themselves as part of the community and want to see responsible consumption.

Any kind of serious look at Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is bound to have a sobering effect. FAS describes a set of birth defects caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy. They include slowed growth, certain facial characteristics and most importantly, brain damage that causes lifelong developmental, learning and behavioural problems. A child born with FAS cannot be cured. A study of children in Alberta's child welfare system in Edmonton and Calgary determined that 29% of them were likely affected by their mother's use of alcohol during pregnancy.

Dr. Gail Andrew, an Edmonton Pediatrician and a member of the Alberta Medical Association's FAS committee, says its becoming more and more clear that FAS is a very serious concern. She says there isn't very much information on the extent of the problem in Alberta, but it's believed that on average, one in a thousand births involves an FAS child. Dr. Andrew hastens to add that the rate is much higher in certain high risk groups. She acknowledges that at this point, there is no exact answer as to how much alcohol consumption by a pregnant woman will cause damage to her child, and as result cautions that total avoidance is the best approach. At the present time, our advice is no alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and even better is no alcohol consumption by the young woman and her partner when pregnancy is even anticipated.

Dr. Andrew says prevention of FAS has to take place at several levels. One is education, starting with young people in the school system. She says assistance also has to be given to people in lower socioeconomic groups to help them change their lifestyles. It's going to take three generations, we feel, to make a big impact on changing habits and lifestyles and providing the information to young people.

As part of the FAS initiative, the Alberta Medical Association has received funding for developing guidelines for doctors in diagnosis and referral. Dr. Andrew hopes the guidelines will be in place for presenting at a conference on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to be held in Calgary next May. She also emphasizes that a team approach involving pediatricians, psychologists, therapists, educational specialists and social workers is required in dealing with people suffering from FAS as well as their families. These children need lifelong external support systems. They are impulsive in their behaviours. They have difficulty in reasoning and judgement. They can often tell you what they were supposed to do right after they react on impulse without thinking things through. They need caregivers who are understanding of this, and understand that the child needs to be taught over and over again and that the child is not behaving this way intentionally. Dr. Andrews says that even as young adults, those suffering from FAS need supervision, an external brain, and that some can do extremely well with that propping up, but that support must not be taken away.

Dr. Andrew hopes that the government continues to provide funding for these programs and will see this is just the beginning in working on this vast problem and that ongoing funding is needed. One of those on the front-line of the government's FAS initiative is Mary Vandenbrink. She is an FAS specialist with Alberta Family and Social Services, training people who deal with children and adults who were prenatally exposed to alcohol. Vandenbrink brings a special perspective to the job since she is also the adoptive mother of two sons who have FAS. According to Vandenbrink, the affects of FAS on a person actually grow more severe with age. The problems increase with every stage development. As we increase our expectations of individuals, they have less and less ability to meet those expectations. She says a substantial number of people in prison have FAS. But while FAS damage is permanent, Vandenbrink believes much can be done to make life more bearable and fulfilling for those who have it. She says the best thing is a great deal of supervision, especially for those FAS sufferers who may be at risk to society, and help in life skills like finding jobs, getting to work on time and paying bills. However, Vandenbrink dismisses as a myth the notion that people with FAS are more likely to be alcoholics.

Bandenbrink's biggest hope for the FAS initiative is that it will make the public aware that FAS is a serious community issue. But the only real solution is prevention. And a key element of that is the message people see in their liquor stores, that when you are pregnant, no alcohol is best. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is 100% preventable. As Dr. Gail Andrew puts it, my goal is to be put out of a job because I would love to not have to assess any children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

From Vendor Magazine - Winter '99