title: Current screening instruments related to alcohol consumption in pregnancy and a proposed alternative method.
abstract: Because alcohol is a known teratogenic substance that negatively affects the fetus, screening for alcohol use is included in maternal child texts for nurses. They present no standard screening approach, however. In the general literature, a multitude of screening instruments exist for the purpose of detecting maternal alcohol dependence but few allow the nurse to detect fetal alcohol exposure in the absence of maternal alcohol dependence. After a comparative analysis of existing screening instruments, we concluded that the Timeline Followback method has the most utility as a screening instrument to detect fetal exposure to alcohol. The purpose of this article is to present a critical review of current screening instruments related to alcohol consumption in pregnant women and to propose the use of the Timeline Followback method as the preferred approach.
authors.affiliation: University of Cincinnati, College of Nursing, OH 45221-0038, USA. Christine.Savage@UC.edu
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wray
authors.forename: P Neal
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Ritchey
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sommers
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dyehouse
authors.forename: Meg
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fulmer
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000465:Algorithms; D003663:Decision Trees; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors