172,000 innocent victims of Scotland’s problem drinking

Doctors warn of toll inflicted by alcohol during pregnancy

The hidden toll of Scotland’s drink problem can be revealed today as doctors warn 172,000 Scots have been damaged by mothers drinking while pregnant.

Experts have called for urgent action to improve diagnosis of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and provide greater support for those affected.

A nationwide drive to improve medical training and raise public awareness has also been launched.

Consultant paediatrician Sarah Brown said: “The first step is recognising that, as a society, we have an unaddressed problem which is affecting the lives and life chances of many.”

The 172,000 Scots born damaged by their mothers’ drinking can be revealed today as a nationwide drive is launched to help the innocent victims of Scotland’s alcohol problem.

The number of those affected by foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), caused by maternal drinking during pregnancy, has escalated calls for earlier diagnosis and better support for victims.

The disorder is now four times more common than autism but, experts fear, awareness of the condition among the public and health professionals remains far too low.

A specialist team of doctors is planning to train hundreds of health staff across the country as part of a nationwide blueprint for change.

A taskforce set up by the Scottish Government to examine how to improve child mental health will also include issues around FASD.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Sarah Brown, of NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s foetal alcohol advisory and support team, said there had to be recognition of the “unaddressed problem” in society which was affecting the lives and life chances of many.

She said: “The message we would like is – if you are drinking, don’t get pregnant. It is a bit like if you are drinking, don’t drive. It is as simple as that.

“However, it is alarmist to say if you have been drinking during pregnancy you will have a child with additional needs. Not all alcohol-exposed pregnancies will result in FASD.”

She said there had been a change in culture in women drinking over the past 30 years and mothers-to-be should not be blamed for the issue. Dr Brown said: “Because so many of us drink and it is something that could happen to any of us – there is a real reluctance to own it as a society.

“There is still a stigma around the diagnosis, and it is likely to take many years to overcome this but we are starting to make progress and the first step is recognising that, as a society, we have an unaddressed problem which is affecting the lives and life chances of many.”

The NHS Ayrshire and Arran team set up a clinic to assess and support children with suspected FASD in 2015 – the first of its kind in Scotland. Initially 36 children up to the age of 12 were assessed, with all the available places taken up within six months. To help meet further demand experts from other services, such as child and adolescent mental health, were trained to take on other cases – resulting in more than 200 children undergoing assessments. But that is a fraction of those thought to be affected.

Figures compiled by the NHS body Healthcare Improvement Scotland state that “as many as 172,000 people could be affected by the disorder in Scotland”.

After the three-year pilot of the NHS Ayrshire and Arran clinic, which was backed by Scottish Government funding, the expertise in helping FASD children is now being rolled out across Scotland.

It is planned that assessments for FASD will become part of mainstream services, which already treat children with autism and ADHD.

Dr Brown said: “With Scottish Government support we are able to provide training sessions over the summer where we will support health boards to have a trained team to help meet the needs of these children. “We have a huge opportunity in Scotland to be leaders in prevention, identification and support and change the trajectories of affected individuals and their families.”

Once FASD is identified, parents and schools can then be given advice about how the child can be supported. Those affected by FASD are more likely to have mental health difficulties, be excluded from school, have addiction issues and have contact with the criminal justice system by the age of 12.

Dr Jennifer Shields, principal clinical psychologist at NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s foetal alcohol advisory and support team, said the condition was often being missed.

She said: “The children may struggle socially, they may struggle with their attention and concentration – that might look like autism and ADHD when, in actual fact, there has been an alcohol history in the pregnancy that no one has fully enquired about.”

She said many undiagnosed adults in Scotland were living with the impact of FASD on their lives.