TITLE:
Effectiveness of a Novel Low Cost Intervention to Reduce Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in the Congo
AUTHORS:
Andrew D. Williams, Yannick Nkombo, Gery Nkodia, Gary Leonardson, Kathryn Martsolf, Larry Burd
KEYWORDS:
Women; Prenatal; Alcohol; Exposure; Intervention; Treatment; Congo; Binge Episodes
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.4 No.1,
March
25,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Objective: Determine the
effectiveness of an intervention to reduce prenatal alcohol exposure in the
Congo. Methods: We utilized a screening tool validated in the Congo to identify
women who were drinking during pregnancy. The intervention was implemented by
prenatal care providers comparing 162 women receiving the intervention with 58
(controls) who did not. The study endpoints were proportion of women who quit
drinking, drinking days per week,
drinks per drinking day, most drinks on any day, and number of binge episodes
per week. Results: In the control group 36% of the women quit drinking compared
to 54% in the intervention group (Chi-square 5.61; p = 0.02). The number of drinking days per
week for the controls decreased by 50.1% compared to 68% for the intervention group
(p = 0.008); drinks per drinking
day for the controls decreased by 37% compared to 60.1% for the intervention
group (p = 0.001); and most
drinks on any occasion in the controls decreased by 38% compared to 61% for the
intervention group (p = 0.004).
Conclusions: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a low cost in-office
intervention to reduce prenatal alcohol exposure in the Congo. At $1.50 per
beer, the reduction in drinks per week would more than pay for the cost of the
intervention. In addition to efforts to reduce alcohol use prior to pregnancy
in the Congo, providers can now offer an evidence based intervention to reduce
exposure for women who continue to drink during pregnancy.