Insufficient measures against alcohol intake during pregnancy
Keystone-SDA
In Switzerland 1,700 babies are born each year with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) due to shortcomings in prevention. This was criticised by Addiction Switzerland on Monday, World Alcohol Day.
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According to the foundation, which carried out a study of all the information on the internet on this subject, there is a shortage of offers to prevent the consequences of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, to recognise them early and to support affected families.
This condition can cause learning and memory problems, psychomotor difficulties, comprehension problems and difficulties in establishing social interactions.
Women in particular who show problematic alcohol consumption or addiction and have difficulty giving it up during pregnancy rarely find help or contact points in their region, Addiction Switzerland said in a statement.
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Online information is sometimes outdated and inaccurate, thus failing to meet the specific needs of pregnant women, it said. For example, women who have continued drinking without knowing they were pregnant find some content that downplays the risks and other content that predicts the worst. The foundation points out in this regard that the only safe behaviour is to abstain from all alcohol consumption for the duration of the pregnancy.
Addiction Switzerland says it is therefore committed to increasing the visibility of reliable information on the topic and the support offered in Switzerland.
Translated from Italian by DeepL/ts
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