Choices

Prenatal alcohol exposure is a leading preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities in the United States. Studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) find that each year approximately 500,000 pregnant women report they drank alcohol in the past month, and approximately 80,000 pregnant women report binge drinking (five or more drinks on any one occasion). Fetal exposure to alcohol results in a spectrum of adverse effects that has been termed Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs), with the brain and central nervous system being particularly sensitive to the effects of alcohol. Alcohol exposure during pregnancy can have profound and life-long consequences for children. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is one of the most involved conditions along the spectrum and affects up to two out of every 1,000 infants born each year in the United States. The estimated lifetime cost of FAS is $2 million per case, with an annual cost for all cases of $4 billion to the nation. Most women reduce alcohol consumption after learning they are pregnant. Others do not recognize they are pregnant in the early weeks of gestation and continue to drink at high levels. Among women of childbearing age (18-44 years), more than half report they drank alcohol in the past month, and one in eight reports binge drinking in the past month. Women who are planning to become pregnant or are at risk of becoming pregnant should avoid using alcohol if they are sexually active and not using contraception. Studies find that about half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned. About half of these unplanned pregnancies occur in women who are using contraception but not effectively. Enhancing effective contraception in women who are drinking at risk levels could help them avoid having an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP). This manual is based on a multisite, evidence-based intervention study. In that study, investigators found the CHOICES intervention could help women lower their risk of an AEP by reducing drinking; beginning consistent, effective contraception use, or both. The study, a randomized controlled trial conducted from 2002 to 2005, tested the efficacy of a brief motivational intervention in reducing the risk of an AEP in preconceptional women by focusing on risky drinking and ineffective contraception use. A total of 830 nonpregnant women, aged 18-44 years and currently at risk for an AEP, were recruited in six diverse settings in Florida, Texas, and Virginia. Participants were randomized to either receive information and a brief motivational intervention or to receive information only. The brief motivational intervention consisted of four counseling sessions and contraception consultation. At some sites women could receive an additional gynecology service visit as part of CHOICES. The results of the study showed women receiving the intervention were more than twice as likely to have reduced risks for an AEP as women who did not receive the intervention. Therefore, this motivational intervention could reduce the risk of an AEP and should be considered for broad dissemination. The CHOICES efficacy study won the 2008 Charles C. Shepard Science Award at CDC for excellence in prevention and control. Although the original study used "eight or more participant inclusion, it is now recommended that "more than seven drinks per week" or "more than three drinks on one occasion" be used as criteria for inclusion, consistent with guidelines from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This advice also is consistent with the Surgeon General's 2007 recommendation.