Alcohol and pregnancy don't mix. Healthy mothers and babies need everyone's support.

These words are at the heart of an annual Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) awareness campaign featured in BC Liquor Stores in September 2011, FASD Prevention and Support Month.

This month, FASD awareness materials - posters, counter decals and brochures - are featured in all 197 BC Liquor Stores across the province. Informational posters featuring a pregnant woman and her partner are displayed in the checkout lanes, and signs are featured throughout each store.

This year, the BC Liquor Distribution Branch teamed up with the Ministry of Children and Family Development, the Ministry of Health, BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre, and the Public Health Agency of Canada to produce the brochure, Alcohol & Pregnancy Don't Mix. Brochures are available year-round in BC Liquor Stores, and are also widely distributed to parent support agencies and other health and women's organizations throughout B.C.

The 2011 FASD awareness materials can be downloaded and used by any organization or business with an interest in prevention and spreading awareness of the impacts of FASD on children and families.

Friday, Sept. 9 is FASD Prevention and Support Day. Each year, on the ninth day of the ninth month, people in British Columbia and around the world mark the day by launching awareness campaigns and holding community events to help raise awareness about the dangers of drinking while pregnant. The day was chosen to symbolize the nine months of pregnancy.

Quick Facts:

• In Canada, it's estimated approximately nine in every 1,000 infants are born with FASD.
• FASD is a term that describes the range of effects that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects can include physical, mental, behavioural and/or learning disabilities with lifelong implications.
• Children born with FASD may have a wide range of challenges including problems with memory, reasoning, attention and problem-solving and heart, vision and hearing problems.

Learn More:

To view and order BC Liquor Stores' FASD awareness posters and brochures, go to: www.bcliquorstores.com/alcohol-pregnancy

For more information on FASD, provincial prevention strategies and programs to assist children and their families, go to: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/fasd

For more information on healthy choices during pregnancy, go to: www.actnowbc.ca/healthy_choices_in_pregnancy/

B.C.'s Baby's Best Chance website is filled with up-to-date and practical information, useful tools and resources for women, expectant parents, and families with babies and toddlers up to three years of age. To get more information, go to: www.bestchance.gov.bc.ca

For the provincial outreach program for FASD, go to: www.fasdoutreach.ca/

A backgrounder follows.

Contact:

Cindy Rose
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-1639

BACKGROUNDER

Sept. 9, 2011 Ministry of Children and Family Development

Campaign launched to promote FASD awareness in B.C.

B.C. is considered a world leader in the field of FASD prevention, diagnosis, assessment, intervention, and support. Through partnerships between government, health authorities, school districts and community organizations, many community-based FASD initiatives are underway throughout B.C.

The MCFD budget for FASD support services has nearly doubled since 2005-06 - from $2.7 million to $5.2 million.

In May 2011, the B.C. government launched the Healthy Families BC strategy. This strategy supports the health of families and communities by helping to make the healthier choice the easier choice. Information about the risks of alcohol use during pregnancy and available resources are available on the Healthy Families BC website at: http://www.healthyfamiliesbc.ca/healthy-start.php

In March 2008, B.C. released a 10-year provincial plan called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Building on Strengths (2008-2018). The plan establishes a guide to provincial, regional and community efforts to address FASD.

The Province also made FASD prevention and support advancements in 2006:

• MCFD established a $10-million FASD Action Fund through the Victoria Foundation to promote prevention, parent and caregiver education, and fund projects focused on improving outcomes for children and youth with FASD. Over 40 projects were funded from around the province.
• The Ministry of Education initiated the FASD Provincial Outreach Program to provide information and training to teachers about ways to support students with FASD.
• MCFD developed Key Worker and Parent Support programs that provide education and information specific to the needs of the child and family. Fifty-two contracted agencies across B.C. deliver the Key Worker and Parent Support program and thousands of clients have been served since it began in 2006.
• Regional Health Authorities, in partnership with the Provincial Health Services Authority, deliver multi-disciplinary assessment services for children with complex developmental behavioural conditions, including children who may have FASD.
• B.C. is also a member of the Canada Northwest FASD Partnership, an alliance of the four western provinces and three territories that work together to enhance FASD prevention, diagnosis and support.

Contact:

Cindy Rose
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-1639