• The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions.

Preserving Families Alcohol- and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week Kit May 14 - May 20, 2006

Containing:

News Release;
:30 Radio PSA Scripts;
Letter to the Editor;
Questions for Women About Alcohol
Alcohol- and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Fact Sheet
2006 Resource and Referral Guide
NCADD Publications List

NEWS RELEASE

Instructions for use of news release: Substitute local information in the news release below, reproduce copies on your letterhead or news release paper to inform media that your organization is observing Alcohol- and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week. Send the release to the city desks of your local newspapers and to the assignment editors at your local radio and television stations. They should receive the releases shortly before the event takes place. Sample news release Alcohol- and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week: For More Information, Contact: (INSERT NAME & TITLE OF LOCAL CONTACT) (INSERT PHONE NUMBER) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Immediate Release:     EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF WOMEN WITH DRINKING PROBLEMS URGED DURING ALCOHOL- AND OTHER DRUG-RELATED BIRTH DEFECTS AWARENESS WEEK (INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATION) is urging women of childbearing age to assess their drinking habits during Alcohol- and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week, which begins on Sunday, May 14, with a simple test that can be requested by calling (INSERT PHONE NUMBER) or downloaded from the internet. "Early identification of alcohol problems among women of childbearing age offers a targeted strategy to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome, the leading cause of preventable mental retardation and the most serious form of drug-related birth defects," said (INSERT NAME OF REPRESENTATIVE FROM YOUR ORGANIZATION). "Research indicates that something as simple as reading a self-help pamphlet may encourage women who aren't already alcoholic to cut down on their drinking. If we're able to arrest the disease of alcoholism sooner rather than later among women of childbearing age, we may have more success in getting this group to abstain from drinking entirely during their pregnancies." According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) requires a multi-level approach. Other strategies include community education programs to increase general awareness of the hazards of drinking during pregnancy, and intervention with individual women who are already problem drinkers and thus at greatest risk for having a child who is affected by alcohol. Fetal alcohol syndrome is caused by maternal alcoholism or heavy drinking during pregnancy. Each year 4,000 to 12,000 babies are born with the physical signs and intellectual disabilities associated with FAS, and thousands more experience the somewhat lesser disabilities of fetal alcohol effects (FAE). Once a woman bears a child with FAS, the probability that subsequent children will have FAS is 70%. To download "Questions For Women About Alcohol Use," please visit the website of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. at www.ncadd.org and click on "Programs" and then "Awareness Activities." A fact sheet about alcohol- and other drug-related birth defects also is available by clicking on "Facts" from the main menu or the side menu of any page on the NCADD site. (INSERT PARAGRAPH DESCRIBING YOUR ORGANIZATION) (INSERT DATE OF DISTRIBUTION)

:30 RADIO PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Instructions for use: Adapt any or all of the following "live copy" radio scripts for local use. Type each script, double-spaced, on your letterhead with the name of a contact person from your organization. Try to submit scripts to radio public service directors in your community in early April. Your chances of getting them aired may increase if you give each radio station a different set of scripts. Follow up with a phone call to the public service director 3-5 days after you submit the scripts asking if they have arrived and if broadcast during AODRBD Awareness Week will be possible. If the public service director was receptive to your first phone call, follow up with an additional call before AODRBD Awareness Week to remind him/her of the PSA. Send a thank you note to the manager of any radio station that airs one of your PSAs. Live copy scripts: Do your drinking habits put you at risk for an alcohol-related problem that could interfere with the birth of a healthy baby? (INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATION) is offering a free self-test for women as part of Alcohol- and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week which begins on Mother's Day, May 14. For more information call (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). That's (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). If you drink while you're pregnant, remember that wine coolers and beer may have the same effect as liquor on your baby because any kind of alcohol increases your baby's risk for being born with birth defects. For more information about making healthy choices for you and your baby during pregnancy, call (INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATION) at (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). That's (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). If you're pregnant and you choose not to smoke, drink or do drugs, your baby will be healthier. And if you stop smoking, drinking or doing drugs at any time during your pregnancy, you will improve your chances of having a healthy baby. For more information about making healthy choices for you and your baby during pregnancy, call (INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATION) at (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). That's (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). The next time you're drinking to your family's health, (INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATION) asks you to remember this: alcohol use by pregnant womenis the leading known cause of mental retardation in newborns. No safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been established. For more information about alcohol- and other drug-related birth defects, call (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). That's (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). If you're planning to have a healthy baby, plan to stop drinking now says (INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATION). Research indicates that the embryo is most susceptible to alcohol-related birth defects soon after conception. For more information about alcohol- and other drug-related birth defects, call (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). That's (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). Pregnant women averaging three or more drinks a day are three times more likely to miscarry than non-drinkers says (INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATION). And even women who consume only one or two drinks each day increase the risk of losing their baby. For more information about alcohol- and other drug-related birth defects, call (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). That's (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). Pregnant women who are treated successfully for addiction to cocaine or crack during the first three months of their pregnancy are more likely to give birth to a healthy baby says (INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATION). Get help for yourself before you have to get help for your baby. For more information about alcohol- and other drug-related birth defects, call (INSERT PHONE NUMBER). That's (INSERT PHONE NUMBER).

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Instructions for use: Type the sample letter below or another written by a member of your organization, double-spaced, on your organization's letterhead, for signature by one of your board members or the head of your organization. Your chances for publication will increase if you can add some relevant local information to the letter. First submit the letter to the editor of the most widely read newspaper in your area. Follow up with a phone call to the letters department to ask if the letter has arrived and whether it is being considered for publication. If your letter is rejected, submit it to the editors of other daily and weekly newspapers, one at a time, in your area. Sample letter: Dear Editor: Alcoholism is an insidious disease that typically develops over a period of time, as the body demands more and more alcohol to achieve the effects desired by the drinker. But long before the body becomes physically dependent on alcohol, most people experience problems related to their drinking that can be interpreted as early warning signs. This is good news, particularly for women of childbearing age during "Alcohol- and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Week, which begins on Mother's Day, May 14. A self test available from (INSERT NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION) can help them determine if their drinking habits increase their risk for an alcohol-related problem before they become addicted. Research shows that such brief intervention techniques may help non-alcoholic women decide to drink less. As a result, they may be able to follow the Surgeon General's advice and abstain from using alcohol completely during their pregnancies. Sincerely, (INSERT NAME & TITLE OF REPRESENTATIVE FROM YOUR ORGANIZATION) (INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATION)

QUESTIONS FOR WOMEN ABOUT ALCOHOL USE

Yes No Sometimes    1.  Do you drink when you feel depressed, hoping that it will make you feel better?    2.  Do you regularly use alcohol as medicine --to relieve menstrual cramps, help you sleep, or calm your nerves?    3.  Do you talk a lot about drinking?    4.  Do you feel sociable only when you drink?    5.  Do you drink when you are under pressure or after an argument?    6.  Do you try to get someone to buy liquor for you because you are too ashamed to buy it yourself?    7.  Do you hide the empty bottles and dispose of them secretly?    8.  Do you buy liquor at different places so no one will know how much you purchase?    9.  Do you plan in advance to reward yourself with several drinks after you've worked hard in the house or on the job?    10. Do you have blackouts--periods about which you remember nothing?    11. Do you ever wonder if anyone knows how much you drink?    12. Do you ever carry liquor in your purse?    13. Do you worry about hurting your child when you have been drinking?    14. Do you drink to make your husband or domestic partner less angry at you?    15. If you drink only occasionally, do you have a lot of drinks at one time?    16. Do you drink more when you have been emotionally or physically abused?    17. Do you feel panicky when faced with non-drinking days or when you are without money to buy alcohol?    18. Do you become defensive when anyone mentions your drinking?    19. Do you try to cover up when you can't remember promises and feel ashamed when you misplace or lose things?    20. Do you drive your car or operate machinery after you've been drinking?    21. Do you take sleeping pills or tranquilizers together with alcohol?    22. Do you use alcohol to have or to avoid sexual activity?    23. Do you think that drinks at home are OK but drinks in a bar are not?    24. Have you fallen down or hurt yourself as a result of drinking?    25. Are you absent or late for work more often after you drink?    26. Do you suffer from indigestion, nausea, or diarrhea due to drinking?       If you have answered yes or sometimes to five or more of these questions, you may be developing an alcohol problem, but a yes to even fewer than five may indicate a problem. Talk with a professional in the alcohol and other drug field, or consult with a physician who specializes in treating alcohol and other drug problems. For referral to local services, find the NCADD Affiliate nearest you. Or call the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. at 800/NCA-CALL. (800/622-2255). Reprinted with permission from the Women's Alcohol and Drug Education Project, Women's Action Alliance, Inc.

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.

244 East 58th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022 phone: 212/269-7797   fax: 212/269-7510 email: national@ncadd.org   http://www.ncadd.org HOPE LINE: 800/NCA-CALL (24-hour Affiliate referral)