North East mams call for better services for children affected by pregnancy drinking
It's part of FASD Awareness Day today, the first since new drinking guidelines advised against alcohol at any point during pregnancy.
A North East mam is calling for better support for children with health problems caused by drinking through pregnancy.
34-year-old Libby from Newcastle, found out her daugher had Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder not long after she adopted the toddler.
The condition is caused when the mother drinks at any point during pregnancy and can manifest itself through a wide range of developmental, behavioural and social problems.
As part of of International FASD Day, Libby has spoken out to urge mams-to-be to avoid drinking throughout their entire pregnancy.
Libby said: “Even though I thought I knew a bit about FASD beforehand, living with the condition is totally different.
"When you first meet her, my daughter appears like a normal child, but as soon as she’s in a situation she finds difficult to cope with, she’ll react aggressively or get upset. I haven’t slept much at all in the past year.
“FASD is not an easy diagnosis to manage. As well as the day-to-day challenges we face together, it’s difficult to accept as FASD is totally preventable. I also know that as she grows up, my daughter will have to come to terms with the fact that she has an irreversible condition that could have been prevented.”
Today marks the first FASD Awareness Day since new drinking guidelines were introduced by the Government’s Chief Medical Officers.
There's now calls for schools, GPs and the justice system to gain more information about FASD, which can often manifest itself as 'naughty' behaviour.
Maria Catterick runs the FASD Network from her Stockton home, offering support to over 900 families single-handedly.
She wants to see more action to help these children, who eventually grow up to be adults with often severe problems.
She said: "In the North East nothing is commissioned, there is absolutely no system.
"If you have a particular disability and there's usually a commissioned service to run alongside that.
"We are still waiting six years down the line for any commissioning of services for FASD.
"I'm impressed by families and their kindness to one another but at certain times they also need local services to underpin that."
Maria says mams need to understand that even the smallest amount of alcohol can have a massive impact.
Sue Taylor, Partnerships Manager at Balance, the North East Alcohol Office, said: “There’s very little awareness of FASD, even though it’s the most common, non-genetic form of learning disability in the UK.
“We believe it’s vital to spread the word about FASD and inform people that while FASD is a lifelong disability which can’t be cured, it is absolutely preventable. Guidelines from the Chief Medical Officers clearly advise women who are pregnant, or trying to conceive, not to drink any alcohol at all and this is the message we want to get out to people this FASD Awareness Day.
“The problems caused by alcohol tend to affect the most vulnerable in society and unborn babies are the most vulnerable of all. We urge the Government to ensure that the new CMOs’ guidance appears clearly on all alcohol products, is communicated routinely via the healthcare system and is promoted to the public via the media.”
For more information about FASD, people can visit www.balancenortheast.co.uk/our-campaigns/alcohol-and-pregnancy or www.fasdnetwork.org