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Green_T


Registered: 10/02/08
Posts: 4,042
Loc: UK
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Rising number of Alberta women admit to drinking, drug use during pregnancy [CAN]
#13324819 - 10/12/10 09:14 AM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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Rising number of Alberta women admit to drinking, drug use during pregnancy October 12, 2010 - Montreal Gazette
CALGARY — More Alberta women are admitting they drank alcohol or took illicit drugs during their pregnancies, while the smoking rate of mothers-to-be remain stubbornly high.
Smoking is by far the most prevalent vice among pregnant women in the province.
About one in five women who delivered a baby in 2006 reported smoking a cigarette at some point during pregnancy, totalling 8,268 cases, the most recent Alberta government figures show.
The smoking rate has decreased from 23 per cent in 2000, but remains "very high," noted Dr. Doug Wilson, the head of obstetrics at Alberta Children's Hospital.
The prevalence of smoking during pregnancy appears greater in Alberta than other provinces, Wilson said. Reasons aren't entirely clear.
"The reality is smoking is an addiction," Wilson said.
"If we have higher rates of smoking in young women who then become pregnant, it's difficult for them to remove that addiction."
Cigarettes, alcohol and drugs all carry serious health risks for babies in the womb — some of them incurable, such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Far fewer Alberta women reported drinking alcohol than smoking, but cases are on the rise.
So are instances of drug use during pregnancy, climbing at an "alarming" rate, according to a provincial report on reproductive health.
The number of mothers-to-be conceding they were dependent on drugs increased to 661 cases in 2006 (1.5 per cent of all births), compared with 179 cases in 2000 (0.5 per cent).
Meanwhile, 1,106 women (2.5 per cent) who gave birth in 2006 said they drank daily or consumed three or more drinks at least once during their pregnancy. In contrast, 405 women (1.2 per cent) reported drinking in 2000.
Alberta Health spokesman Howard May said the province isn't certain whether alcohol and drug use among pregnant women is truly on the rise or whether increasing numbers reflect a greater willingness to report.
Dr. Suzanne Tough, who specializes in maternal and child health in Calgary, also cautioned data collection methods have changed since 2000, making comparisons difficult. Still, the province's report noted the proportion of infants exposed to alcohol prenatally is substantial.
Tough and several other researchers studied the issue in 2005. They found that about 50 per cent of first-time Alberta mothers reported consuming alcohol before knowing they were pregnant. Afterward, almost one in five continued to drink, generally in small amounts.
"In our work, we see that binge drinking is more common among younger women and it almost exclusively occurs before pregnancy recognition," Tough said. "A glass of wine a couple of times a week . . . is more common among affluent, well-educated, well-nourished women."
Both Tough and Wilson recommend pregnant women should avoid any amount of alcohol for the safety of their baby. Debate on the issue ignited last week after a study published in the British Medical Journal suggested light drinking may not harm fetuses.
Erin Palashniuk of Calgary Fetal Alcohol Network said an estimated nine in every 1,000 babies born in Canada have some form of FASD. About 23,000 Albertans are living with the disorder, which can lead to learning disabilities and physical problems.
Provincial statistics show females under 20 are more likely to drink than older mothers, but Palashniuk said the issue affects women of all ages and all incomes. She added that more programs are needed to help women overcome their addictions.
"There's a big perception in our community or in our society in general that women who suffer from addiction issues are marginalized women," she said. "It's not just one group of women that suffers from these issues. It's a whole gamut of women that are suffering from addiction issues."
University of Calgary professor Dr. Reg Sauve, who teaches in the community health science department, said the apparent rise in alcohol and drug use among pregnant Alberta women is not a cause for panic, but it shouldn't be ignored.
He suggested further examination is warranted, including exploring whether women are being adequately taught about the dangers of these vices.
"There are a lot of causes of developmental disorders in babies that we can't do much about," Sauve said. "One of the ones that we can do something about is alcohol-or drug-taking during pregnancy."
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LoudStereo
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Registered: 10/10/10
Posts: 143
Last seen: 13 years, 3 months
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Re: Rising number of Alberta women admit to drinking, drug use during pregnancy [CAN] [Re: Green_T]
#13324938 - 10/12/10 09:56 AM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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As long as the women feels good what does it matter about shooting out a retard, right?
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Simplepowa
In Pursuit of Knowledge


Registered: 03/06/09
Posts: 4,310
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Re: Rising number of Alberta women admit to drinking, drug use during pregnancy [CAN] [Re: LoudStereo]
#13325018 - 10/12/10 10:21 AM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
LoudStereo said: As long as the women feels good what does it matter about shooting out a retard, right?

Maybe your comment is sarcastic but...
Is it so hard to abstain from substances during 9 months for the health of someone who does not even asked to be here on Earth? Is it so hard to put a healthy baby on Earth?
Jeez.
Would you give a beer or a cigarette, even pot of cocaine to a baby or a children?
If your answer is no,
Why would you give it to your child when he is still inside yourself, in gestation, when he is even more vulnerable to chemicals and even more in development?!
Anyway I could debate a lifetime on this subject, so I'll stop here.
It's just... It is not a question of "not having fun" during pregnancy, because you don't need drugs to have fun in life, you can have a lot, lot, lot of fun while sober too, enjoying every moment of your pregnancy and loving your foetus, rubbing your belly, taking hot bath, etc. while sober may be the most fun you'll have from being a pregnant mother.
How can they not feel bad to intoxicate small cells that just want to develop normally?
Anyway.
Yes drugs are fun, bring a new vision of everything and etc., but just don't touch them while you are pregnant, it is not so hard not to understand, give all the chance you can to your new child please.
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Carl Sagan - "Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people." --- Robert Pirsig - "When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion." --- Brian Cox - "[One] problem with today’s world is that everyone believes they have the right to express their opinion AND have others listen to it. The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense."
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Rabid Jelly Bean
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Registered: 01/25/10
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Loc: TX
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Re: Rising number of Alberta women admit to drinking, drug use during pregnancy [CAN] [Re: Simplepowa]
#13325742 - 10/12/10 01:01 PM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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20% cigarette smoking rate in Alberta? People should have to go into a forced detox when they get pregnant or face child abuse charges.
Oh shit, the US's rate is also 20%. What the hell? I had no idea it was still so widespread. Just looked this up. • 24% of men smoke, compared with 18% of women. • Nearly half of those with a GED and a quarter of those with no high school diploma smoke, compared with only 6% of those with a college graduate degree. • About 31% of those who smoke live below the poverty level. <-- just sad
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