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Educating young girls on the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy may be the best way to avoid growing numbers of babies diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
These are the sentiments of Vivien Lourens, founder of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Information Centre (Fasic).
Having worked in the field for a number of decades, Lourens has had first-hand experience in raising many children with FASD.
“I was an emergency foster mother with Child Welfare for 16 years and had many babies with FASD in my care. The first one of the babies placed with me was Tisha, who as a premature baby was discharged from hospital at 10 weeks old,” says Lourens.
Tisha, who is now 27, was diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) which is one of several related conditions within the FASD spectrum.
“This started our journey with FAS when a few weeks later I was told she had FAS.
“On doing research, my husband, Peter, and I found out about FAS from America and Canada. After Tisha, many babies with FAS were placed with me.”
In their growing need for support while raising these children – even temporarily – the Lourens’ saw a huge gap in the body of knowledge around the disorder.
“We couldn’t find any help in this country and so we started Fasic to help other care givers. There were so many challenges, the first was trying to get her to such, she had been fed by a tube in hospital.
“So many hospital visits, I think we attended every clinic at Red Cross. Then there was finding a school,” she says.
Tisha still cannot read or write or do simple maths and therefore has no concept of money.
“Tisha was only supposed to be with us until a permanent home was found for her, but after months we decided to permanently foster her,” she says.
Damage irreversible
Since then, Tisha has advocated for the prevention of FASD with the Lourens’.
“If you are planning a baby or pregnant, the importance of no alcohol cannot be stressed enough.
“The damage to the baby cannot be reversed and the damage is permanent. Age has no bearing,” she says.
Recently, during an awareness event around FASD, the Social Development Deputy Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu made headlines when she called for mothers who consume alcohol during pregnancy to face criminal charges.
This is not the answer, says Lourens.
“Punishing a mother is not the way to go. They need support. If (this happens) as the deputy minister suggests, who is going to look after the child? Social services are already over burdened with not enough social workers and foster parents. Also, the cost of bringing cases to court will be enormous besides trying to prove the mother purposely meant to damage the baby,” she says.
“I think education, especially in schools from the age of 11, is a good way of getting the message across,” she says.
Awareness
Hosting a range of awareness drives at local high schools, this is one aim of the City of Cape Town’s International Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Day campaign.
The day is commemorated annually on 9 September.
FASD is a concern for authorities in South Africa, with devastating, irreversible effects.
FASD refers to the wide range of physical, behavioural and cognitive impairments that occur due to the baby’s exposure to alcohol before birth and is directly caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
It remains incurable. No amount of alcohol is safe and includes breastfeeding.
“Alcohol is one of the leading preventable causes of birth defects and developmental disorders.
“There is no safe level of drinking while pregnant and we want to remind every woman they can start protecting their babies before they’re born,” says Patricia van der Ross, Mayco member for community services and health.
