New Alcohol and Pregnancy Resource for Health Professionals

Studies show up to 30 percent of New Zealand women drink during pregnancy and 50 percent still believe drinking some alcohol during pregnancy is safe but that healthcare workers are often unsure how to speak with them.

Alcohol Healthwatch and the University of Otago, Wellington, have developed the Pregnancy and Alcohol Cessation Toolkit (PACT), an online resource to help health professionals . The PACT provides up-to-date evidence on the effects of alcohol during pregnancy, and gives examples of how to effectively use that evidence in everyday practice. Four modules are linked to other resources, clinical scenarios, self evaluation questionnaires and survey feedback, and can be used with any continuing professional education programme. (from the Alcohol Healthwatch website http://www.ahw.org.nz/page.php?p=38&fp=148).

Access to the PACT is freely available at www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/projects/pact.