While mothers across the world have come to know the effects of alcohol, many women of childbearing age in Russia have accepted the risks and not curbed the practice of consuming alcohol during pregnancy. As researchers began to study the cultural attitudes about pregnancy and alcohol use, it became clear that there is very little historical or current research about the topic.
As the figures of FASD and PAE continue to rise, it is worth noting how little research is being conducted.
"The search revealed a small pool of existing research studies related to PAE and/or FASD in Russia (126: 22 in English and 104 in Russian). Existing epidemiological data indicate a high prevalence of PAE and FASD, which underlines the strong negative impact that alcohol has on mortality, morbidity and disability in Russia. High levels of alcohol consumption by women of childbearing age, low levels of contraception use, and low levels of knowledge by health and other professionals regarding the harmful effects of PAE put this country at great risk of further alcohol-affected pregnancies."
Reference:
Popova S, Yaltonskaya A, Yaltonsky V, Kolpakov Y, Abrosimov I, Pervakov K, Tanner V, Rehm J. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agt156Dr Jane Aronson completed a thorough investigation on the effects of alcohol on children adopted from Russia. Although the statistics are concerning, it seems that Russia is still not making the effort to thwart the issue. Russia no longer allows Americans to adopt so the information moving forward will not be available.
http://www.orphandoctor.com/medical/commondiseases/fas/fas_russian.html
Because I am an adoptive mother of two infants from Russia, I am drawn to any research that may be of importance to the IA adoption community. Neither of my daughters were not affected by alcohol as indicated by their, birth weight, head circumference, and APGAR scores. I have become very interested in working within the adoption community.
I hope to continue to research and learn about trauma and alcohol and it's affects on children born in Russia. Idealy, I could work in Russia.
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| 2007 Adoption Age 16 Months Birth City Novosibirsk |
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| 20004 Adoption Age 13 Months Birth City Komsomolsk Na Amur |
Hi! Do you ever wonder why Russia does not look at the research the USA has found on FAS and taught their mothers about it? Do you feel FAS happens to women in the USA or Russia at a lower functioning level, economic level, etc., than those mothers who have a higher education, are higher functioning mentally, and those who have the means to have better health care?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information!
Kate
To be honest, Russia doesn't like to admit there is a problem with birth control, HIV, or alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
DeleteKate can you send me a link to your blog, I can see your posts, but I want to go directly to your blog and cannot seem to get there from your google page! Thanks so much!!
This is very interesting I know there are a lot of different cultural practices. I would like to find out more about this topic.I wonder what are the long term effect as a country that does not alert mothers about the possible risks.
ReplyDelete