I'm posting all this not that I think many or even any of you can get to the below described conference but I think its good to know what our EU neighbors are doing. I also found the statistics for EU mother's drinking while pregnant quite astounding. You'll come to that section about 1/3 of the way down...
Alcohol and Pregnancy Conference. 9 September, Brussels
Place: European Parliament – Brussels
Date: Wednesday, 9 September 2009 Time: 08h45
Hosted by the Swedish Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats
The Conference is jointly organized by Eurocare and the Swedish Presidency of the European Union to mark International Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Day.
This meeting will be a unique opportunity for Public authorities and experts to learn more about this condition, share experiences and good practices, and discuss the different policy options to curb its incidence.
Deadline for registration:
8 September 2009 (for those who have a permanent pass to the European Parliament)
24 August 2009 (for those who DO NOT have a permanent pass) Please send the completed registration form to info@eurocare.org
For any additional information contact Aleksandra Kaczmarek at info@eurocare.org tel.: +32 (0)2 736 05 72
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is the leading known cause of birth defects and developmental disorders in the EU.
It affects about 1% of people in the EU27 (i.e. nearly 5 million people) and is the only one that is 100% preventable.
Unfortunately, many women are not aware that, throughout pregnancy, even at low levels of exposure, alcohol interferes with the normal development and can seriously damage the unborn child. Numerous studies show there are a substantial number of women in the EU who continue to drink during pregnancy. It is estimated that this ranges from 25% in Spain to 35%-50% in the Netherlands and even higher rates in the UK or Ireland (79%).
The umbrella term, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), describes the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These can include physical, mental, behavioural and or learning disabilities with possible lifelong implications.
Draft Programme
8:45 – 9:15 Registration
9:30 – 10:00 Welcome by the Chair MEP Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats (Sweden)
10:00 – 10:40 Opening remarks by the Swedish Health Minister and Health Commissioner Androula Vassiliou
10:40 – 11:10 Risks associated to prenatal exposure to alcohol
Dr Diane Black: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Foundation of the Netherlands
11:10 – 11:30 Coffee break
11:30 – 12:30 Dimension of the problem: alcohol consumption among pregnant women
Italy: Prof. Mauro Ceccanti. (Università La Sapienza di Roma and Centro di Riferimento Alcologico)
Spain: Unitat de Recerca Infància i Entorn (URIE), Paediatric Service, Hospital delMar
Ireland: Coombe Women's Hospital in Dublin
12:30 – 13:00 What can be done?: Recommendations on effective measures to tackle the problem
Dr Kieran O'Malley: Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, BelfastTrust, Northern Ireland
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 17:00 Examples of good practices:
Learning from other countries experiences: Sweden; Catalonia (Spain); Poland
Evaluation Study of the French experience with the pictogram: Juliette Guillemont (INPEES - Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé)
Evaluation of the impact of warning labels on alcoholic beverages
Evaluation of the UKlabelling voluntary agreement: Don Shenker (Alcohol Concern)
Association of Swedish Midwives: Kajsa Westlund
FAS policlinic (Germany)
17:00 – 17:15 Closing remarks
Michel Craplet: Chairman of Eurocare
Debate