The purpose of this article is to review the current status of the different national guidelines on alcohol use during pregnancy in other countries.
Many countries, including the United States, Canada, and the UK, developed programs and guidelines to prevent alcohol use during pregnancy, and communicated the programs through brochures, posters, and fact sheets. For health professionals, screening tools and intervention programs were also disseminated for implementation in operating sites. Most of the national guidelines advised against alcohol use during pregnancy because prenatal alcohol exposure during the first trimester may be related to fetal alcohol syndrome. Moreover, safe amounts of alcohol and safe time to drink during pregnancy were not known or even not proposed. The guidelines recommended that health professionals ask or screen pregnant women about their alcohol use. Brief interventions were reportedly helpful for alcohol-positive women. Alcohol-dependent pregnant women needed persistent attention and care throughout pregnancy and after delivery. Their alcohol-exposed babies should also be provided with appropriate interventions.
Prenatal alcohol exposure may occur unintentionally when childbearing age women have an unplanned pregnancy or are unaware of their conception. Therefore, reinforcement of public awareness was necessary to prevent alcohol use during pregnancy. Many alcohol users tended to deny or underrate their alcohol use and obstetricians tended to exclude screening alcohol use from their usual practice. It is highly recommended that a national intervention guideline on alcohol use during pregnancy be developed, which is suitable to the current environment of Korean health care.
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