Summary of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a condition caused by alcohol exposure before birth. During pregnancy, alcohol freely crosses the placenta [1]. The baby cannot process the alcohol and this may result in damage to the baby’s brain and body. Not all babies exposed to alcohol during pregnancy will develop FASD, but there is no safe level of alcohol use during pregnancy [2, 3]. FASD is a lifelong condition that results in cognitive, physical and behavioural disabilities [2]. FASD occurs everywhere in Australia where people drink alcohol. Many women drink during pregnancy before they know they are pregnant and there is a lack of awareness about how alcohol use during pregnancy can affect the developing baby [2, 4]. While alcohol use is generally less common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women than non-Indigenous women, for those who do drink, alcohol use is more likely to be at a risky level [5, 6]. The National Health and Medical Research Council alcohol guideline for pregnancy recommends that ‘To prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol’ [2]. This summary is based on the Review of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The review summarises the evidence from journal publications, government reports, national data collections and national surveys accessed through the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet’s database of publications