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6 Sep 2023
Messaging about alcohol use during pregnancy can be challenging. Misconceptions continue to exist in the media and among healthcare professionals and the public about this issue. Healthcare professionals are a trusted source of health information. It is important that they have the tools they need to talk about this topic in a nonjudgmental, non stigmatizing way. Much work remains to be done to address counseling patients of reproductive age, removing stigma around messaging, and normalizing the conversation about alcohol use.
CDC recently funded research to assess healthcare professional and patient attitudes about alcohol use during pregnancy. This research also examined messaging and approaches to encourage conversations about alcohol use during pregnancy and the use of alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI). These findings were used to create a communication guide for partners and a suite of “Let’s Talk” materials for both healthcare professionals and patients.
