Women and Drinking: Preventing Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancies

An essential resource for anyone providing help or services to women at risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancies. Drinking during pregnancy can cause a range of disabilities that have lifelong effects yet are 100% preventable. A variety of brief motivational behavioral interventions developed for nonpregnant women of childbearing age can effectively prevent alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEP). This book outlines clinical definitions and the history of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), epidemiology and effects across the lifespan, evidence-based prevention practices such as CHOICES and CHOICES-like interventions, and opportunities for dissemination. Based on decades of scientific research and clinical refinement, this volume is packed with helpful illustrative case vignettes, therapist-patient dialogues, sample forms, and handouts. The information and resources presented will help a wide variety of practitioners in diverse settings, ranging from high-risk settings such as mental health and substance abuse treatment centers to primary care clinics and universities, deliver interventions targeting behavior change.