Alcohol use during pregnancy: A prevention program based on community-health volunteers’ experiences

Abstract

Epidemiological data from several countries reveal that alcohol use during pregnancy is still highly commonbetween women. This situation demands more effective prevention strategies, due to the great risks for the fetusdevelopment related to alcohol consumption. In Argentina this situation becomes more complex due to issuesassociated to accessibility to the public healthcare system. The main goal of the present work was to designa prevention strategy for alcohol use during pregnancy and breastfeeding periods, which were communitybased and directed to women users of the public healthcare system, living in marginalized populations ofCórdoba (Argentina). In order to acquire a deepen knowledge about the real needs of women from our communities, we performed a series of collaborative, interactive workshops with community-health volunteers.The topics of these meetings were alcohol-use related effects during pregnancy and breastfeeding periods,including biological and epidemiological information. We also discussed on popular beliefs about alcohol useduring these periods that are commonly heard and routine practiced in our communities. More importantly,we discussed about women sexual and reproductive/non-reproductive health as a way of promoting healthypractices during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The accessibility to the healthcare system and the full exerciseof sexual and reproductive/non reproductive rights were considered the main barriers to guarantee healthypractices during pregnancy and breastfeeding periods in women from our communities. According to thediscussed content on these workshops series, and with the collaboration of the community-health volunteers,we performed a divulgation notebook which includes: information about risks related to alcohol use duringpregnancy and breastfeeding periods; contact information about community-directed activities carried out by the main public healthcare institutions; and information about sexual and reproductive/non-reproductiverights of women in accordance to our national current laws. We conclude that an effective prevention strategyfor alcohol use during pregnancy and breastfeeding should be based on a more complex, integrative viewabout women's health, including community-based interventions and sexual education contents.