FASD Story/Editorial
Everyday in Canada an Unborn Life is Changed by Alcohol: Glady's Story
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At one time, Doctors told expecting mothers that a glass of wine or a beer was good for their unborn baby. So, mothers took their advice and had that glass of wine or beer daily, and some more than two, others more… if only they knew then what they know now.
 Then many mothers were unaware how their addictions would affect the baby they were carrying, and some did not even know they were pregnant. Gladys Evoy is one of those mothers. A Cree woman and only child, at age 13 she ran away from an abusive and alcoholic home and ended up on Vancouver streets. She gave birth to her first child, Nicole, at 26. Nicole ended up in foster care. Gladys has never been a part of her life. Four years later addicted to cocaine, heroine and an alcoholic, Gladys learned many months into the pregnancy she was pregnant with twin boys. “When you’re on these drugs your period stops so you don’t even know when you become pregnant”, she says.
Medical help did not come until the last month of pregnancy when she was hospitalized. One son was born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), the other seems unaffected. Gladys watched for a month as the smallest struggled for life in an incubator. “I didn’t feel worthy enough to hold him. I saw how my addictions affected his life and decided then I needed to change.” Her sons were taken away from her, setting Gladys on her “red road to recovery” so that she could get her sons back.
She’s been clean and sober for 11 years now, married for almost ten, a certified alcohol and drug counselor, works with teenage girls (many of which are young moms), and is parenting her twin sons and second daughter. The boys are 13 now, and “They want to know why they were taken away as babies, and why one is different than the other”, she says. At first Gladys told them, “Mommy was sick”, and now that they are older she knows she has to tell them more. “It is not easy to tell your child that he is the way he is because you drank when he was inside you.”
Gladys along with the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society are helping other women and communities to learn about FASD and how to prevent it. They tell mothers THERE IS NO SAFE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL DURING PREGNANCY. Everyday in Canada at least one child is born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). There is no estimate of the number of people living with the FASD condition, but it is known that FASD is 100 percent irreversible and100 percent preventable.
FASD has the highest incidence of any major birth defect in Canada affecting more than 9 in 1000 babies born. The more serious condition of FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) affects 1 to 3 in every 1000 births. Research proves that alcohol causes brain and other neuro-system damage in the developing baby. THERE IS NO SAFE TIME TO DRINK ALCOHOL DURING PREGNANCY.
It is estimated that 60 to 75 percent of women age 18 to 34 consume alcohol. Combine this with the fact that 50 to 75 percent of pregnancies are unplanned, and the chance of having a healthy baby becomes as likely as winning the lottery. The difference is with a lottery ticket you pay only $2, but when you mix alcohol and pregnancy you’re gambling with someone else’s life.
Advice from doctors is not enough. A young woman enjoying her teenage years and youth often does not see a need to visit the doctor regularly. Knowing this, the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society developed a program to help youth and communities prevent FASD called The Best Start in Life: What Youth Need to Know about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. The program includes community information sessions, youth training, and a toolkit containing a video and training material. The kit enables youth across Canada to facilitate a one-hour presentation in schools and communities to develop greater awareness and understanding about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
The video and facilitator’s toolkit are ideal tools to host information sessions, and prepare youth to deliver these sessions. Toolkits can be purchased from and sessions booked through the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society at 604-913-9128.
SOURCES:
http://fasd.wordpress.com/history-of-fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder/
http://fasd.wordpress.com/estimating-the-rate-of-fasd-and-fas-in-canada/
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/fasd-etcaf/faq_e.html
http://www.gannett.com/go/difference/greatfalls/pages/part3/babies.html |
