Free pregnancy tests to hit bar bathrooms this weekend
Packages to include information about FASD as part of Yellowknife Association for Community Living initiative
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Friday, September 9, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Michelle Denton hopes to spread awareness about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, one pregnancy test at a time.
Family and children services manager Vera Nesbitt, left, and facilitator Michelle Denton of the Yellowknife Association for Community Living hold a basket full of pregnancy test kits. They have spent the past few weeks assembling the kits and are distributing them to washrooms in bars as well as liquor stores today on International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day. - Robin Grant/NNSL photo |
This is why she and Yellowknife Association for Community Living colleague Vera Nesbitt have spent hours over the past few weeks making about 500 pregnancy kits for distribution in bathrooms of bars and liquor stores across the city on International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day today.
The kit includes a pregnancy test, a condom, resources to find more information and a simple message: "It may not only be you. Take a quick and simple test to find out if you're drinking for two."
People have known what causes fetal alcohol syndrome for decades. But, because a large number of pregnancies are unplanned, many women in the early stages of pregnancy drink alcohol not knowing they're pregnant. This is a critical problem, as the risk of FASD exists in all stages of pregnancy, even in the earliest stages.
Denton and Nesbitt hope that by passing out pregnancy tests and information about FASD, young women will take the time to understand how FASD works, what the symptoms are, what the risks of drinking are and develop proactive habits in managing their fertility.
"No drink is safe. There's no evidence saying if you take one drink your baby will be OK," said Denton, who is a family and children services facilitator at the association.
Denton is hoping the initiative gets people talking about FASD. She believes society isn't communicating enough about the damaging effects of alcohol exposure in utero.
"We need to talk about it more. We talk about it one day a year and that's it. Everyone does a big awareness on Sept. 9. But what about the rest of the year?" she said.
"And it's a problem everyone faces. Not just one culture. It's a problem right across the board."
When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, her fetus is exposed to it through the bloodstream. Alcohol can affect the fetus' growth and development, especially in the brain and central nervous system.
FASD is a spectrum disorder, which means it can manifest itself in a variety of ways. Typical physical symptoms include a small head, smooth ridge between the upper lip and nose, small, wide-set eyes and below average height and weight. It is also linked with hyperactivity, poor co-ordination, learning disabilities, poor judgment, mood swings and delayed speech development.
Neither the federal government or territorial government keep statistics on FASD rates in the NWT. This is partly because of there is no way to specifically test for FASD and many women will not admit they drank during pregnancy.
However, a 2014 Statistics Canada study pegs Northwest Territories as having the highest rate of residents in Canada who drink heavily at 32.7 per cent.
Health Canada has released approximate numbers on FASD across the nation. The department estimates more than 3,000 babies a year are born with FASD, and about 300,000 people are currently living with it.
As Health Canada puts it, "the occurrence of FASD is significantly greater in aboriginal populations, and in rural, remote and Northern communities."
 | No safe amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant | 
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Foster Family Coalition of the NWT executive director Tammy Roberts echoes Fenton's concerns.
"People will say, 'I had a few drinks in this pregnancy and everything seems fine so maybe I'll have a few more in my next pregnancy,'" Roberts explained.
"But there's no safe amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant ... And that's a message that we need to get out, and I think we need to do a better job of it. Because there are still a lot of people who think it is OK to drink when your pregnant."
From her 25 years as a long-term caregiver to people diagnosed with FASD, Roberts said prevention will require more than pregnancy tests in bars, although she said the initiative is a good start.
"Any information out in the public is good information," she said.
"Our kids are a great place to start. So not only about the hazards of drinking when pregnant, but also how to support somebody who might have a diagnosis. And it's best to start with our young kids because they're the most receptive to a change of thinking or a different way of thinking," she said.
Communities around the world participate in International FASD Awareness Day. It takes place on the ninth day of the ninth month which marks the normal length of a pregnancy.
