A new initiative has been launched to improve care for women who have been exposed to alcohol during pregnancy

NICE, a health watchdog, has released a list of HEALTH indicators. ‘landmark’Today’s initiative will greatly improve the care of women who have been exposed to alcohol in their wombs.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, also known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), affects approximately three per cent of the UK’s population. This is three times the number of autism cases. However, more than half of Brits (53%), have never heard of it.

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FASD is a neurodevelopmental disease that results in alcohol exposure in the womb. There are 428 conditions related to FASD. ‘devastating consequences’Brain damage can lead to physical and developmental problems.

Today, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence(NICE) stated that any child suspected to have been exposed should receive an assessment.

Every child exposed to the virus should be sent for a neurodevelopmental evaluation. FASD patients should also be provided with a management plan.

It was also stated that women should be advised early not to drink during pregnancy and have records of their alcohol intake.

This is part of a 20-year-fight by campaigners and families living with FASD who feel they’ve been largely ‘unsupported’.

The spokesperson for National Organisation for FASD, Joanna Buckard, said: “The NICE Quality Standard is a major leap forward in the fight to reduce alcohol-exposed pregnancies by giving women the information and support they need and vitally to create brighter futures for those with FASD and their families.

“Too many people with FASD up to now have been left undiagnosed and unsupported with sometimes devastating and avoidable consequences.”

Professor Raja Mukherjee, who heads the FASD National Specialist Clinic and was on the NICE Quality Standard Committee, said: “FASD is a complex condition which affects brain and body.

“There are over 428 conditions linked to FASD, and it presents in multiple ways.

“But in terms of recognition, we’re about 20 years behind other conditions like autism or ADHD.

“I hope it does not take so long going forward to implement the improvements outlined in the NICE Quality Standard and make the real difference that people with FASD deserve.”

Despite the fact that there are more than 2.4 million FASD sufferers in the UK than the 1 million who are living with autism, 66% of Brits have heard about autism.

32% of those who knew about FASD did not know how many people had it, while 46% estimated that the numbers were lower than they actually are.

It comes as research carried out by OnePoll on behalf of the National Organisation for FASD found nearly a quarter of adults think it’s ok to have alcohol during pregnancy – which goes against the Chief Medical Officer’s advice that it is safest to avoid it.

Jan Griffin, Surrey, whose son Rossi is 20 years old, has shared her experiences.

She said: “I didn’t have any issues with alcohol, I was just an ordinary 40-year-old woman living my best life as it were.

“Had anybody said to me, when I was thinking of having a sleeping tablet or a tot of brandy to de-stress, ‘did you know alcohol kills cells as they migrate in the baby?’ I’d have sat up and made different decisions.

“I wish someone had said – this is what happens, these are the facts, the choice is yours, you’re not being judged.

“We cannot change the history of FASD but with this long-awaited NICE Quality Standard we WILL change futures.”

Rossi said: “I’m very forgetful, oftentimes I have trouble socialising and sometimes it’s a comfort issue – I may get back or leg pains.”

Clare Devanney-Glynn, adoptive mum to three with FASD who also sat on the NICE Quality Standard Committee said: “Thanks to this – my children and others just like them will be able to enter adulthood being understood by society in a way that just hasn’t ever happened before.

“This has the capacity to change what our entire society looks like for the better.”

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