Midwives and pregnant women talk about alcohol: what advice do we give and what do they receive?
BACKGROUND
the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recently revised its guidelines for alcohol consumption during pregnancy and breast feeding, moving from a recommendation of minimising intake to one of abstinence. Women are potentially exposed to a variety of messages about alcohol and pregnancy, including from the media and social contacts, and are likely to see midwives as the source of expert advice in understanding these contradictory messages.


OBJECTIVE
to explore the advice that midwives believe they give to pregnant women about alcohol consumption, and the advice that pregnant women believe they receive; the knowledge and attitudes of both groups regarding alcohol consumption and the consistency with the NHMRC guidelines; and the receptivity and comfort of both groups in discussing alcohol consumption in the context of antenatal appointments.


METHODS
individual semi-structured interviews with midwives and pregnant women.


METHODS
face-to-face interviews with midwives and telephone interviews with pregnant women were conducted in two regional areas of New South Wales in 2008-2009.


METHODS
12 midwives and 12 pregnant women.


RESULTS
midwives and pregnant women consistently agreed that conversations about alcohol are generally limited to brief screening questions at the first visit, and the risks are not discussed or explained (except for high-risk women).


CONCLUSIONS
both groups expressed comfort with the idea of discussing alcohol consumption, but lacked knowledge of the risk and recommendation, and it appears that this opportunity to provide women with information is under-utilised.


CONCLUSIONS
there is a need to provide midwives with accurate information about the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and effective communication tools to encourage them to discuss the risks and recommendations with their patients.
Jones
Sandra C
SC
Centre for Health Initiatives, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. sandraj@uow.edu.au
Telenta
Joanne
J
Shorten
Allison
A
Johnson
Keryn
K
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult