Blog #7

  An important aspect in order to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome is to start by advising women to seek prenatal care. Knowing and seeing how a pregnancy is coming along can be essential to both the mother and the baby. Because women only go to the doctor for a yearly check up or something related to that, that time should be taken advantage of by asking the women if they are planning to get pregnant why it is important to look for prenatal care, the benefits and the tremendous amount of information they can receive. Although this may be a start, many may find this as invading their privacy asking whether they plan to get pregnant or because at times it happens unexpectedly.
  Another solution I think would help prevent fetal alcohol syndrome is for health facilities pertaining to pregnancy, to continue or start informing pregnant women about the effects of alcohol on their baby through sessions, videos or handouts. Having such resources from where to gain information would provide awareness and caution to consuming alcohol. This solution would only benefit women who'd seek prenatal care because the information would be provided during that time. However, it could be time consuming and handouts could be simply thrown away or never looked at.
  Lastly, I think that clinics should create trust between doctors or other specialists and their patients to be able to help pregnant women find help if they are consuming alcohol. Because the women will trust their doctors they will be less likely to lie about their alcohol consumption. But again some women may consider this invading their privacy or just not wanting help at all.