A series of videos to help health care professionals support pregnant women who use alcohol or other drugs has been developed by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC).
The videos outline how the NDARC resource Supporting pregnant women who use alcohol or other drugs - A Guide for Primary Health Care Professionals can be used in a range of health care settings.
Each video has a different focus:
- Supporting pregnant women who use alcohol or other drugs: Barriers to care
- Supporting pregnant women who use alcohol or other drugs: Care and treatment
- Supporting pregnant women who use alcohol or other drugs: Specific drugs
NDARC Research Fellow, Dr Courtney Breen said the videos will be disseminated to a broad range of services and health professionals to direct them to the resource and assist with its use.
“We know that early access to antenatal care and treatment results in the best outcomes for women who use substances during pregnancy, and their babies,” Dr Breen said.
“The videos show viewers how they can utilise the resource, which is designed for a range of primary health care professionals and includes guidance on how to ask about alcohol and other drug use.
“It also provides an extensive overview of the support services available allowing health care professionals to create holistic care plans.”
Supporting pregnant women who use alcohol or other drugs - A Guide for Primary Health Care Professionals has been evaluated with participants reporting that the resource provides a comprehensive review of the issues to consider when supporting pregnant women.
It was also reported to be easy to use based on its accessible format.
The Guide:
- Outlines how primary care professionals can effectively identify pregnant women who have problematic alcohol and other drug use and respond to their needs.
- Provides links to tools for screening, assessment, brief intervention, guidelines, training and other resources.
- Draws on the NSW Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Substance Use during Pregnancy, Birth and the Postnatal Period for information about pharmacological and other clinical management strategies.
In addition to the video series, a Quick Guide is also available to assist health care professionals to utilise the resource.
Supporting pregnant women who use alcohol or other drugs - A Guide for Primary Health Care Professionals, the associated Quick Guide and video series are all available on the NDARC website.
Media contacts:
Marion Downey
Communications Manager, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
P: (02) 9385 0180 | 0401 713 850 | m.downey@unsw.edu.au
Morgaine Wallace-Steele
Communications Officer, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
P: (02) 9385 0124 | m.wallace-steele@unsw.edu.au
