An essential resource for anyone providing help or services to women at risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancies.

Drinking during pregnancy can cause a range of disabilities that have lifelong effects yet are 100% preventable. A variety of brief motivational behavioral interventions developed for nonpregnant women of childbearing age can effectively prevent alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEP).

This book outlines clinical definitions and the history of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), epidemiology and effects across the lifespan, evidence-based prevention practices such as CHOICES and CHOICES-like interventions, and opportunities for dissemination.

Based on decades of scientific research and clinical refinement, this volume is packed with helpful illustrative case vignettes, therapist–patient dialogues, sample forms, and handouts. The information and resources presented will help a wide variety of practitioners in diverse settings, ranging from high-risk settings such as mental health and substance abuse treatment centers to primary care clinics and universities, deliver interventions targeting behavior change.

Praise for the Book:

“This book is an excellent overview of newly developed interventions for preventing alcohol-exposed pregnancies and life-long disorders in children. Written by the world experts in motivational interviewing and women’s drinking, the book includes a comprehensive description of the award-winning project CHOICES and its adaptations. This is an encouraging and useful resource for any health professional who works with women.”
Tatiana Balachova, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK

“While there are lots of books on FASD, this volume shines by getting to the heart of the matter of preventing this major health issue – avoiding an alcohol exposed pregnancy. This is a must-have resource for health professionals working with women of childbearing age to help identify and intervene with those at risk.”
Edward Riley, PhD, Distinguished Professor Psychology and Director, Center for Behavioral Teratology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA

“The authors have put together an excellent summary of a number of prevention and intervention strategies developed to decrease adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. I particularly appreciate the emphasis on the project CHOICES which provides women with a balanced and logical approach to prevention of alcohol-exposed pregnancies. The section on screening for at-risk drinking is excellent, as is the information on how to ask a woman about her drinking habits. I especially like the ‘clinical pearls’ that are interspersed throughout the book.”
Kenneth Lyons Jones, MD, Distinguished Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA

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