Scottish children’s agency highlights legacy of drinking while pregnant

March 1, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News, Pregnancy

The agency Children in Scotland strives to highlight how thousands of the country’s children are affected by women who binge drink while pregnant.

The agency Children in Scotland has made the conservative estimate that at least 900 children in the country suffer direct, debilitating consequences of their mother having drunk heavily during the first three months of pregnancy. Thousands more are likely to have more subtle symptoms according to the agency’s report. (Note: Report is a PDF file.)

The report, delivered to the parliaments of both Scotland and the U.K. in March of 2009, cautions that undue emphasis has been placed on the effects of alcohol to the pregnant woman and not enough attention paid to the impact on the unborn child.

Many children exposed to large amounts of alcohol in vitro are later diagnosed with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). These syndromes often result in visible birth defects and damage to the internal organs, frequently fatal. Yet less visible symptoms still occur including degradations in concentration, learning, and behavior.

But the agency stresses that the problems with alcohol don’t stop with pregnant mothers. “A significant percentage of children throughout the United Kingdom are harmed in various ways and to varying degrees by alcohol,” states the report.

“Sometimes the negative effects are caused by alcohol consumption among children and young people themselves. In addition, there is abuse and/or neglect of children resulting from the drinking problems of parents or the other adults in their lives.”

Dr. Jonathan Sher, director of research, policy and programs at Children in Scotland, told The Herald: “Foetal alcohol syndrome is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. It is easier to diagnose because the damage can be seen. Thousands more children, teenagers and adults across Scotland have suffered serious harm to their brains that is invisible, but continues to have a negative impact on their learning, behavior, wellbeing and life chances.”

The Scottish government began addressing alcohol use in the country over a year ago, and recently began the first phase of accepting evidence to back its proposal to combat the country’s alcohol-related issues. Dr. Sher and Children in Scotland submitted another report (PDF) to the Scottish parliament this past January.

The agency, along with seven other children’s organizations in the U.K., has called for the government to require minimum pricing on alcohol as part of a comprehensive plan to battle the problem. “[T]he minimum price for alcohol should be set high enough to demonstrably discourage/reduce consumption significantly,” said Children in Scotland in their January 2010 report.

“It is not sufficient to set a minimum price that creates the illusion of having ‘done something’, but which still allows young people cheap and easy access to unhealthy levels of drinking. To be effective as a deterrent, the price of alcohol must make unhealthy consumption out of reach as a ‘pocket money’ expense for young people.”

However, the Scotsman reported in mid-February that the minimum price bill has hit a snag concerning its legality.