Women proven to be extremely high risk for drinking during pregnancy were provided case management (CM) enhanced with strategies
derived from motivational interviewing (MI) as a part of a comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) epidemiology and prevention
program in four American Indian communities in Northern Plains states. Data on the first women enrolled (
n = 131) revealed that they have extreme issues with alcohol abuse to overcome. Sixty-five percent of these women have experienced
extensive alcohol use within their immediate family. At intake, 24% of CM clients reported binge drinking one or more days
in the preceding week. Heavy drinking resulted in estimated blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) as high as .576 using the BACCUS
methodology. Project staff has attempted to actively engage each of these women in CM. Clients have been in CM an average
of 17.2 months (
SD = 16.6). The mean number of significant contacts (face-to-face or telephone MI sessions) was 19. Thirty-one percent of the
women entered some type of formal alcohol or drug treatment while in CM. Data were collected at 6 month intervals from 6 to
72 months after enrollment. Consumption of alcohol, as measured by both quantity and frequency measures, was reduced at 6 months.
Thirty-eight percent of enrolled women reported complete abstinence from alcohol use at 6 months, and the number of binges
while drinking in CM declined significantly from 15 at baseline to 4.3 at 6 months. However, mean peak BACs for the heavy
drinking sessions were still problematic for those who continued to drink. They ranged from .234 to .275 from baseline to
12 month follow-up, but the total number of binges was reduced substantially at 12 months as well. Furthermore, the most important
outcomes are the status of the children born while in CM. One hundred and forty nine pregnancies have occurred among these
women, and 76% of those pregnancies have resulted in normal deliveries, and only two children born in CM are suspected of
having some form of severe FASD. At 6, 12, 18, and 24 month follow-up milestones, 70% of the women who were not currently
pregnant were protected from having a child with FAS by not drinking, using birth control, or both. Other measures of CM success
include enrolling in school, regaining custody of children, completing substance abuse treatment, probation from the criminal
justice system, substantial periods of abstinence, enrolling in programs to improve life skills, and employment.
Keywords Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) - Prevention - Case management - Pregnancy - Alcohol abuse - American Indians - Native Americans