Alcohol-Free Pregnancies Encouraged
The wife of Lt. Governor Aiona is helping lead an international effort to raise awareness about the danger associated with drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
Mrs. Aiona discusses the importance of an alcohol-free pregnancy.
Vivian Aiona, co-chair of the Hawai‘i Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Task Force, said the condition affects as many as 13,000 people across the state, causing a variety of mental, physical and developmental disabilities.
Any woman who drinks alcohol at any time during pregnancy is at risk of having a child with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, regardless of her education, income or ethnicity,” Mrs. Aiona said. “It is important for women to know that alcohol can damage their fetus at any stage of the pregnancy. The good news is that this disorder is 100 percent preventable.”
In 2006, 1,089 women from Hawai‘i reported using alcohol during the last three months of their pregnancy, up from 775 women a year earlier, according to the latest figures available at the Hawai‘i Department of Health.
To help draw international attention to the problem, Sept. 9, 2008 was proclaimed “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day” in Hawai‘i.
