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Bazzo, S., Marini, F., & Black, D. (2014). An international campaign to raise awareness of the risks of drinking in pregnancy. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 3(1), 113-116. doi:10.7895/ijadr.v3i1.175Prenatal exposure to alcohol is a major cause of birth defects and developmental disorders around the world. Prevention is a complex issue, with one factor being poor understanding of the risks of drinking during pregnancy. Awareness campaigns have emerged as an effective tool to increase knowledge of the risks in a manner which embraces the whole public and avoids creating stigma. Unfortunately many organizations lack the expertise or resources to develop, carry out, and evaluate such campaigns. The EUFASD Alliance, in collaboration with partners in health education from the Local Health Authority of Treviso, Italy, and a creative partner, Fabrica, propose to develop a campaign which can be adapted to countries and cultures around the world. A key goal is empowerment of individuals and local groups to make choices and change behaviors. A network of partners around the world is being developed to carry out the campaign. Most importantly, the effectiveness of the campaign will be evaluated in several key centers around the world.

Green, C., & Cook, J. (2014). “Doc, I didn’t know I was pregnant. Does my baby have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder?”. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 3(1), 117-120. doi:10.7895/ijadr.v3i1.176How much alcohol is “safe” during pregnancy? This is a question for which there is no conclusive answer. Although no mother wants to intentionally harm her baby, the reality is that consuming alcohol during pregnancy can lead to a variety of complex developmental disabilities, collectively termed Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The precise dosimetry data for the timing and dose of alcohol in pregnancy is unknown, but several features of alcohol metabolism are well characterized and have significant implications for alcohol’s deleterious effects on the developing fetus. There are a number of critical periods in embryonic development, which can be brief or prolonged and that correspond to specific tissues and structures (organ systems). Alcohol at any one of these critical periods can have significant downstream effects on typical fetal development. Alcohol teratogenicity does not produce a single abnormality, but instead can lead to a cluster of birth defects and/or neurodevelopmental abnormalities (i.e., FASD). Each of these cognitive or behavioral problems can vary in its expression, from severe and obvious early in life, to subtle and apparent only years after birth. Based on the variability among women and their fetuses, genetics and environmental influences, it is very unlikely that “absolute risk” for alcohol and pregnancy will ever be established. The age-old question, “How much is too much?”, will also remain unanswered. The best advice: “NO exposure equals NO risk.”

Popova, S., & Chambers, C. (2013). Editorial: Special Issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 2(3), 1-2. doi:10.7895/ijadr.v2i3.172 (http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v2i3.172)We, as guest editors, are very excited and proud to introduce the first Special Issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) of the International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time any existing journal has produced an issue specifically dedicated to FASD.