The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions.

FAS Baby Shower

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence/Long Beach Area
Long Beach, CA

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Sometimes it takes more than information, no matter how factual, to bring home the tragic consequences of behavior people may not think about before it's too late.

Five years ago NCADD's Long Beach Affiliate hosted a seminar on fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) with Anne Streissguth, PhD, a world-renowned researcher and authority on the subject. During her presentation in the darkened conference room at the Long Beach Naval Hospital, the participants fell silent as they watch slide after slide of babies who were born with completely preventable birth defects. "We must do more to reach the young women who are most at risk with our message," vowed Jan Peckham, executive director of NCADD of Long Beach, who felt as if she had just seen a real-life horror movie.

Peckham already knew how to grab the attention of an audience. At the time, NCADD of Long Beach had recently completed a grant-funded video about FAS. It was receiving a lot of praise, particularly for the opening scene. As a music box plays "Brahms Lullaby," a young pregnant woman, seated in a lovely flower- and sun-filled garden, gently rocks a crib. Inside, a baby cries wildly. Exasperated, the mother gulps down a glass of scotch. She then pours some into a baby bottle and tucks it in the crib with her child, whose crying stops.

"Everybody gasps when they see this," says Peckham, who planned to use the video, along with supplementary handouts, to educate local high school students about the destructive effect of alcohol on the fetus. "I was looking fora way to keep their attention at this level throughout a presentation, which isn't always easy to do, especially for younger age groups."

Peckham then came up with the idea to stage a mock baby shower--usually a joyful event in the life of a mother, filled with adorable baby gifts--during the presentation. Using an infant doll named "Buddy" and a bag of traditional gifts, she soon discovered the baby shower involved the young women in a way that the video alone or the handouts never could.

Every participant receives a rattler, teething ring, pacifier or some other small gift. Affixed to each is a label that conveys some specific information about drinking during pregnancy. Then, as the women pass "Buddy" from one to another, they are asked to read the label on their gift.

"Instead of the pretty rattle a woman is holding, she suddenly realizes the `gift' she may be giving her baby is a facial deformity, mental retardation, low birth weight or a small brain," says Peckham. "As the doll moves from person to person, you can see the concern register on each of their faces, so we know we have found an effective way to keep them interested."

Once all the "gift" labels have been read, another doll is passed around but the women aren't as eager to hold it because this time it is a premature infant hooked to life support. Developed by a hospital supply company for demonstration purposes, the doll is incredibly lifelike. It disturbs the women so much that the presenter now has their complete attention and can emphasize how easily FAS can be prevented if the women can abstain form drinking during pregnancy.

The presentation also includes information about how drugs other than alcohol can affect the fetus, but Peckham has found that the baby shower in particular has an enormous impact on younger people, many of whom think that drinking is somehow not as destructive as other drug use. "Our presentation really makes them wake up and think," she notes.

From its inception, the "FAS Baby Shower" has been in constant demand. And for thousands of women--from teenagers to corporate employees to professionals working in the field of alcoholism and other drug addictions--it has helped ensure that FAS never mars the happiness that the birth of a child can bring.

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National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.

244 East 58th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022 phone: 212/269-7797   fax: 212/269-7510 email: national@ncadd.org   http://www.ncadd.org HOPE LINE: 800/NCA-CALL (24-hour Affiliate referral)