Pregnancy and alcohol

During 2004, the Centre for Health Promotion worked on a consultation project that resulted in the development of a social marketing campaign to alert the community, and in particular women of child bearing age, to the risks associated with consuming alcohol during pregnancy.

Both health practitioners and consumers reported a lack of knowledge about the amount, timing and consequence of drinking alcohol when pregnant or just prior to becoming pregnant. Consumers were also scathing of health promotion campaigns that were vague and/or complex in their advice to the public.

It was decided that a prudent conservative public health approach would suggest that no alcohol during pregnancy is the safest choice. Consumers from a range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds identified the following aspects important in the campaign:

• The key message: Pregnancy and alcohol don’t mix
• The style of image reflected in the campaign
• That health services and GP waiting rooms were the best place for paper resources to be available.

Following this initial phase of the campaign a Health Monitor Report was conducted by the South Australian Department of Heath in 2007. This data showed that the initial campaign was highly successful in that it increased community awareness about the key message of the campaign; that there is no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy. However, the surveyed population’s ability to recognise the other key messages from the campaign was low. Only 7% of respondents were aware that during pregnancy there is no safe stage to drink alcohol and less than 23% were aware of the specific intellectual, physical, genetic and growth consequences of drinking in pregnancy. A re-run of the campaign was staged over the month of August in 2007, which aimed to further raise awareness of these messages. This included a state wide distribution of posters and consumer postcards and media promotions through radio, television, bus shelters, bus interiors and bathroom posters.

Contact details

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Resources

Pregnancy and alcohol DL

Pregnancy and alcohol Aboriginal DL