by Stephanie Liu, Erin Manchuk And Shannon Ruzycki, The Conversation

Is it safe to drink alcohol and breastfeed? As physicians, we have always cautioned patients not to. As mothers, we look forward to the occasional glass of wine.

We also know that drinking while breastfeeding remains a controversial and very personal choice, one for which many mothers find themselves judged by friends and family.

Does beer increase milk supply?

Historically, beer was made very differently than it is today. Beer companies marketed low-alcohol beers to women to stimulate appetite, increase their strength and enhance milk production. Barley used in beer production contains a polysaccharide that can enhance breast milk production by increasing prolactin secretion in nursing mothers.

On the other hand, alcohol may also inhibit breast milk letdownand slow the flow of milk to the baby due to a blunted prolactin response required for breast milk production. An older study published in Developmental Psychobiology also found that infants consumed less milk during the four-hour testing sessions in which nursing mothers drank alcoholic beer compared to mothers who drank nonalcoholic beer.

Alcohol consumption may cause a woman’s breasts to feel fuller, giving the illusion of enhanced milk production when in fact there is less milk transferring to the baby.

How much alcohol will reach your baby?

The amount of alcohol present in your breast milk is closely related to the amount of alcohol present in your bloodstream. The highest amount of alcohol level in your breast milk occurs 30 to 60 minutes after an alcoholic drink.

Many studies have been performed that measure the amount of alcohol that gets into breast milk and thus into baby. One study found that consuming 250 ml of wine had a very small impact on the baby’s blood alcohol level.

The legal driving limit for blood alcohol concentration in many cities is 0.05 percent. This correlates to 50 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood. Because the amount of alcohol present in your breast milk is closely related to the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream, the amount transferred to your baby depends upon your blood alcohol level at the time of nursing.

For example: If your baby drinks 100 ml of breast milk while you have a blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent, your baby will consume 50 mg of alcohol. For a 5 kg baby, this is 0.001 percent of their body weight in alcohol.

Put another way: a standard drink (defined as one 355 ml can of beer, one 150 ml glass of wine or 45 ml of hard liquor) contains approximately 14,000 mg of alcohol. If your baby drinks 100 ml of breast milk while you have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 percent, this is nearly equivalent to your baby drinking 1.5 ml of beer, or 0.5 ml of wine or 0.2 ml of hard liquor.

Wait at least two hours before nursing

Ultimately, just as in pregnancy, there is no known safe level of alcohol consumption while breastfeeding. We cannot know for certain the safety of even small amounts of alcohol for young babies.

Click here for full article.

Retrieved from: https://canfasdblog.com/2019/07/10/policy-action-paper-toward-a-standard-definition-of-fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-in-Canada/

On June 13^th, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance posted a news release inviting Canadians to share their input regarding the next federal budget. CanFASD urges you to make a submission in support of the CanFASD Research Network and the work that we do.  FASD is a major public health issue that affects over 1.4 million Canadians – more than autism, cerebral palsy and Down’s Syndrome combined.  Canada needs to do better on all fronts – awareness, prevention, diagnosis and interventions and supports.  Take this opportunity to let the Government know that FASD must be a priority for the 2020 Federal Budget.

You can find the link for submissions here. The deadline for submissions is Friday August 2^nd at 11:59pm EST.

Retrieved from: https://canfasdblog.com/2019/07/05/make-fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-a-priority-for-the-2020-federal-budget/

FASD for School Staff Level II is an advanced training course intended for all educators working with students with FASD including all administrators, teachers, educational assistants, ECE’s, office admin, Board personnel and bus drivers. This Level 2 training course, building on the Level 1 Foundations in FASD course, provides the perspective of individuals who have FASD and their caregivers, is evidence-based and current, employs a culturally sensitive approach, and is presented in a way that is responsive to educators.

Level 2 training will provide knowledge and understanding of:

• a review of the key points of the Foundations Level I course
• characteristics of a FASD-Friendly school
• teaching strategies for students with FASD
• the importance of educator/caregiver collaboration
• instructional, environmental, and assessment strategies in the classroom
• transitions facing students with FASD

After successfully passing a twenty-question test, a certificate will be provided to each participant upon completion.

If for any reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, we will offer to review your decision with you and offer up to a full refund depending on the situation. To process this request, please email info@canfasd.ca proof of your purchase and a description of the reason you require a refund within 30 days of receiving your order.

Fighting for a Future-2004 and Are we still fighting for a future-2019
The first ‘Fighting for a Future’ Symposium held in 2004 identified six areas that needed action for change and needed further research and support for individuals with FASD. They were: 1) Homelessness, 2) Finances,  3) Physical and Mental Health, 4) Education, Programming and Employment, 5) Legal Actions and Addictions and 6) Family Support.¹ During the 8th International Conference on FASD held in Vancouver early this year, CanFASD presented the progress of these six areas over the last 15 years, asking the question ‘Are we still fighting for a future?’.² Shana Mohr, a training coordinator with the FASD Network of Saskatchewan who is also a parent and a member of the CanFASD Family Advisory Committee, presented an overview of the progress made in terms of Mental Health for individuals with FASD. In this blog post, we summarize the contents of the Mental Health section of the Are we still fighting for a future? presentation.

Recommendations made in 2004
The following recommendations were made regarding the mental health needs of individuals with FASD in the 2004 Fighting for the Future symposium.¹

• The development and funding of targeted health care delivery and mental health treatment should be considered as a primary risk management tool for working with adolescents and adults with FASD.
• The provision of long-term mental health care for parents and other family members should be available, funded and encouraged as a risk reducing tool in maintaining essential supports for individuals with FASD.

Research Developments – 15 years
They identified that it is vital to develop a comprehensive system of mental health care to meet the needs of individuals with FASD as well as their parents, families and caregivers.¹ In response to these needs, over the last 15 years, significant progress has been made. Key research developments related to mental health for FASD include:

• Cook, 2016: Development of new FASD diagnostic criteria identifying FASD as a full body disorder and thereby including mental health assessment as a significant part of the diagnostic process.³
• Popova, 2016: A systematic review that identified mental health conditions as comorbid with FASD. ⁴
• Anderson 2017: A study that discusses how mental health needs of individuals with FASD can be met according to the Mental Health Strategy for Canada.⁵
• Mela 2018: A systematic review of clinical evidence regarding the use of psychopharmacological interventions such as the use of psychotropic drugs to treat individuals with FASD⁶
• Mela 2018: The first psychotropic medication algorithm for FASD by Dr. Mela’s research group⁷

Additionally, the work done by CanFASD to support individuals with FASD and their families was also highlighted as a significant development of mental health in the FASD sector.

Gaps and Needs
Regardless of the tremendous progress made in meeting the mental health needs of individuals with FASD, the ‘Still Fighting for the Future’ research group identified that there are still many gaps that need to be filled.² These include:

• More funding and supports are required for mental health services that are specifically designed for individuals with FASD
• Mental health systems in Canada need to recognize FASD as a condition with significant mental health needs and make accommodations
• Sufficient training should be provided for health care/mental health care professionals regarding FASD
• There is a great deal of stigma associated with FASD that needs to be addressed

Considering the progress, gaps and needs, the two recommendations made at the 2004 Fighting for a Future Symposium regarding mental health for FASD still appear to be valid. In other words, we are still fighting for a future and together all of us can make a difference.

References

1          Lutke, J. & Antrobus, T. Fighting for a Future: FASD and ‘the system’: adolescents, adults and their families and the state of affairs. (FASD Support and Resources in Alberta, Surrey, BC, 2004). https://fasd.typepad.com/fasd_support_in_alberta/2008/02/post-1.html.

2          Harding, K., Reid, D., Mohr, S., Lutke, J., Wilson, M. & Liyanage-Zachariah, V. Still Fighting for a Future: Where We Were and Where We Are Now. Exploring 15 Years of Progress on FASD in Canada. 8th International Conference on FASD doi:https://interprofessional.ubc.ca/files/2019/03/A9_Harding.pdf (2019).

3          Cook, J. L., Green, C. R., Lilley, C. M., Anderson, S. M., Baldwin, M. E., Chudley, A. E., Conry, J. L., LeBlanc, N., Loock, C. A. & Lutke, J. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: a guideline for diagnosis across the lifespan. Cmaj 188, 191-197 (2016).

4          Popova, S., Lange, S., Shield, K., Mihic, A., Chudley, A. E., Mukherjee, R. A. S., Bekmuradov, D. & Rehm, J. Comorbidity of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet 387, 978-987, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01345-8 (2016).

5          Anderson, T., Mela, M. & Stewart, M. The Implementation of the 2012 Mental Health Strategy for Canada Through the Lens of FASD. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health 36, 69-81 (2018).

6          Mela, M., Okpalauwaekwe, U., Anderson, T., Eng, J., Nomani, S., Ahmed, A. & Barr, A. M. The utility of psychotropic drugs on patients with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD): a systematic review. Psychiatry Clinical Psychopharmacology 28, 436-445 (2018).

7          Mela, M., Hanlon-Dearman, A., Densmore, R. & Reid, D. Psychotropic Medication Algorithm for FASD. (2018). https://research-groups.usask.ca/psycholegal-fasd/psychotropic-medication-algorithm-for-fasd.php.

Retrieved from https://canfasdblog.com/2019/06/28/mental-health-and-fasd-still-fighting-for-a-future-exploring-15-years-of-progress-on-fasd-in-Canada/

This 2-day event is aimed to raise funds to alleviate the devastating loss of 15 homes in Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement due to wildfires out of control in northern Alberta.

Losing a home to a fire is hard for many to understand, especially if you never felt this loss personally.

But we all know our home is valuable! a home is where you create your memories, hang your favorite photo’s, measure your child growth, keep the old family heirlooms, keep your most prized possessions… it’s your sanctuary – your safe zone.

A house is made of materials….. but HOME IS HOME ❤

“Bring the Rain – Fire Relief” is for those who have LOST EVERYTHING to the wildfires.

For the moms, the dads, the grandparents, & the children who never see their home again and will have to rebuild – once they are allowed back into their small community.

Compassion is an action! and this event is for people to come together and show their support.

Let’s help to rebuild those 15 homes that were tragically lost.

Shower them with kindness.

Bring the Rain

Bring the love.

Event page https://www.facebook.com/events/2452416991669573/

For the full article click here: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/who-recognizes-burn-out-as-medical-condition-1.4438757

Retrieved May 27 2019 from https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/who-recognizes-burn-out-as-medical-condition-1.4438757