portaladmin posted on September 18, 2009 11:25
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CTIS ACKNOWLEDGES TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER AWARENESS DAY
(San Diego) Sept. 2009– The San Diego-based, non-profit California Teratogen Information Service (CTIS) requests recognition of the 10th anniversary of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Awareness Day on Sept. 9, a day dedicated to increasing awareness about fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), the nation's leading cause of preventable mental retardation.
CTIS is working with San Diego State University’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program during the FASD Awareness month of September in a project aimed to prevent alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The web-based alcohol program will work to measure and reduce current alcohol consumption among low-income women who may become pregnant.
“If women of childbearing age are made aware of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy early on, we will have more success in getting women to abstain from drinking during their pregnancies,” said Dr. Christina Chambers, the program director of the CTIS Pregnancy Risk Line and associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego. “FASD Awareness Day plays an important role to provide support and information to expectant mothers of the irreversible condition of fetal alcohol syndrome.”
Ten years ago, the ninth day of the ninth month of 1999 was chosen to remind the world of the dangers of alcohol consumption on the growing fetus during the nine months of pregnancy. As the use of alcohol during pregnancy is the only cause of FAS, the condition is 100 percent preventable.
Each year 4,000 to 12,000 babies are born with the physical signs and intellectual disabilities associated with FAS, and thousands more experience the more broad range of disabilities known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
Fetal alcohol syndrome is characterized by abnormal facial features, growth deficiencies, and problems with the central nervous system. Those with the condition also may have problems with learning, memory, attention span, problem solving, speech, and hearing. While FAS can be treated there is currently no cure.
FASD Awareness Day is recognized throughout the world with organized events, such the FAS bell concordance, “breakFASDs,” walk-alongs and fundraisers. To play a part in FASD Awareness Day in locally, please visit www.fasday.com.
Founded 27 years ago and housed at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, CTIS offers a free Pregnancy Risk Information Line at 1-800-532-3749 that fields questions from pregnant and breastfeeding women (in both English and Spanish) about exposure concerns and where to find medical advice and referral resources. Information can also be found at the CTIS website (www.ctispregnancy.org) , and website visitors can email a CTIS counselor with questions.