The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased alcohol consumption, skyrocketing stress levels, and limited mental health and addiction services. Experts suspect that the combination could lead to more cases of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Lifelong disability affects the brains and bodies of people who were exposed to alcohol in utero. An estimate 3000 babies a year are born with FASD in Canada.
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Dr. Gail Andrew says the pandemic created a “perfect storm” for increased alcohol use among women of childbearing age.
“When you look at all the factors … isolation, job loss, financial stress … moms have to stay home … it’s the perfect storm (for FASD),” Andrew told Global News.
“If someone is also dealing with untreated mental health (problems) or addictions, they might not be able to seek help (during crashes).”
The medical director for FASD services at Edmonton’s Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital also notes the number of unintended pregnancies in our country. According to the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada, about 40 percent of pregnancies in Canada are unplanned.
Mothers of children with FASD often did not know they were pregnant when they consumed alcohol.
Audrey McFarlane, Executive Director of the CanFASD Research NetworkIt is also concerned that FASD cases have increased since the pandemic struck.
“Rates of alcohol use among women of childbearing age have increased during COVID as a coping strategy,” McFarlane told Global News.
She says stigma related to FASD can delay diagnosis and access to supports for children, because mothers do not want to admit to a doctor that they drank during pregnancy. Diagnosis requires confirmation of maternal alcohol use.
“(Prevention) is more than just a public health message, it actually supports girls and women to have healthy pregnancies,” McFarlane said.
Andrew adds that shaming and blaming mothers doesn’t help anyone.
“Everyone should step back and ask, ‘Why is he drinking?’” Andrew said.
“(People with FASD) don’t have to end up homeless, they don’t have to end up without education, they don’t have to end up, sadly, in the court system.”
Tannan Redcrow-Anderson of St. Albert, Alta., Has FASD. She describes her birth mother as sweet and caring, but she’s disappointed that she drank during pregnancy.
When Redcrow-Anderson found out she had FASD as a child, she was “angry and upset.”
“It was a difficult journey my whole life … I had trouble understanding body language and I had trouble with math and making friends,” said the 23-year-old.
“Tannan struggled with impulse control … got upset pretty easily,” said her legal guardian, Laurie Anderson.
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Anderson became Redcrow-Anderson’s Older sister after she was placed in foster care as a child. His biological mother, who has since died, supported their relationship.
Anderson, whom Redcrow-Anderson now refers to as his “chosen mother,” explains that the biological mother was the daughter of a survivor from a residential school and suffered intergenerational trauma.
“Tannan’s mother had no intention of harming her children. She was overwhelmed and unable to deal with what life had thrown in her way, “Anderson said.
“(She) was trying to survive and she did it the only way she knew how.”
Redcrow-Anderson aspires to be the first person in her biological family to graduate from high school.
“I hope people with FASD are proud of who they are and happy to be ourselves,” said Redcrow-Anderson.
“Tannan can have a tremendously successful life. He has so many great qualities, ”Anderson added.
September is FASD Awareness Month.
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Reference-globalnews.ca