April is Alcohol Awareness Month, a particularly important time for nurse practitioners and midwives who play a key role in preventing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).
NPs, Midwives and Nurses: Partnering to Prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, a collaboration of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses, and the University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services, is a great resource for practitioners looking for patient-engagement tools and professional resources.
FASD champions in Alcohol Awareness
It is also a way to connect with other “FASD champions,” such as Meagan Thompson, DNP, CNM, CLC, APRN, who shares her story in the video above.
FASD champions can choose from a variety of activities to help spread the word. For example, as a member of the FASD champions network you can:
• Use patient education information in your clinical practice.
• Display patient education posters and infographics in your office.
• Incorporate FASD-related articles and research findings in a nursing or midwifery course you teach.
• Encourage your workplace to adopt routine alcohol screening and brief intervention.
• Invite your coworkers to view an FASD prevention webinar.
• Present facts on prevention of alcohol-exposed pregnancies and FASDs at a local, state, or regional healthcare professional meeting.
• Present facts on prevention of alcohol-exposed pregnancies and FASDs at a community health event.
• Write an article about prevention of alcohol-exposed pregnancies and FASDs for a healthcare professional or community newsletter.
