A survey of obstetrician-gynecologists on their patients' alcohol use during pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
To examine knowledge, attitudes, current clinical practices, and educational needs of obstetrician-gynecologists regarding patients' alcohol use during pregnancy.


METHODS
A 20-item, self-administered questionnaire on patients' prenatal alcohol use was sent to 1000 active ACOG fellows. Responses were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques.


RESULTS
Of the 60% of the obstetrician-gynecologists who responded to the survey, 97% reported asking their pregnant patients about alcohol use. When a patient reports alcohol use, most respondents reported that they always discuss adverse effects and always advise abstinence. One fifth of the respondents (20%) reported abstinence to be the safest way to avoid all four of the adverse pregnancy outcomes cited (ie, spontaneous abortion, central nervous system impairment, birth defects, and fetal alcohol syndrome); 13% were unsure about levels associated with all of the adverse outcomes; and 4% reported that consumption of eight or more drinks per week did not pose a risk for any of the four adverse outcomes. The two resources that respondents said they needed most to improve alcohol-use assessment were information on thresholds for adverse reproductive outcomes (83%) and referral resources for patients with alcohol problems (63%).


CONCLUSIONS
Efforts should be made to provide practicing obstetrician-gynecologists with updates on the adverse effects of alcohol use by pregnant women and with effective methods for screening and counseling women who report alcohol use during pregnancy.
Diekman
S T
ST
National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724, USA.
Floyd
R L
RL
Découflé
P
P
Schulkin
J
J
Ebrahim
S H
SH
Sokol
R J
RJ
D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000517:prevention & control; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000592:standards*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States