Steps Toward Decreasing Maternal Alcohol Consumption in Israel: Nationwide Trends During a Decade

Yehuda Senecky; Noam Zrubavel Yaaron; Gabriel Chodick; Andrea Berger; Liat Hen-Herbst; Ilana Barta Fund; Manal Massalha; Ran Matot; Esther Ganelin-Cohen

doi:10.1177/00333549241289035

Steps Toward Decreasing Maternal Alcohol Consumption in Israel: Nationwide Trends During a Decade

Yehuda Senecky
, Noam Zrubavel Yaaron
, Gabriel Chodick
, Andrea Berger
, Liat Hen-Herbst
, Ilana Barta Fund
, Manal Massalha
, Ran Matot
, Esther Ganelin-Cohen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Objectives: Prenatal alcohol exposure poses a substantial risk to fetal development. Efforts were made in 2011-2020 to increase public awareness of and prevent alcohol consumption during pregnancy. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Israel of pregnant women’s alcohol consumption from January 2021 through June 2023 and compared our results with the results of a survey conducted during 2009-2010 to assess changes over time. Methods: We conducted cross-sectional surveys at 3 public hospitals in central and northern Israel. Surveyors visited hospitals twice weekly and used a questionnaire consistent with one used in 2009-2010 that focused on alcohol consumption 3 months before pregnancy and during pregnancy. We conducted a stratified analysis of the prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy by demographic characteristics. We also used a multivariable logistic regression model to examine variables associated with receiving guidance on alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Results: Of 1915 women in the 2021-2023 survey (mean [SD] age, 30.8 [5.6] y), 1204 (62.9%) reported never consuming alcohol before pregnancy and 1708 (89.2%) reported no alcohol consumption during pregnancy. During pregnancy, 157 (8.2%) women reported consuming alcohol weekly or less, 12 (0.6%) more frequently, and 52 (2.7%) binge drinking. We found a significant decrease in alcohol consumption during pregnancy in 2021-2023 as compared with 2009-2010 (odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.52-0.88; P = .03). Predictors of alcohol consumption during pregnancy included alcohol consumption before pregnancy, parity, and smoking. Significantly more women in the 2021-2023 sample (n = 569; 29.7%) than in the 2009-2010 sample received guidance on alcohol consumption during pregnancy (P < .001). Conclusions: Educational efforts should continue to increase awareness of the risks of prenatal alcohol exposure in the general population and among health professionals.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	221-229
Number of pages	9
Journal	Public Health Reports
Volume	140
Issue number	2-3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549241289035
State	Published - 1 Mar 2025
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

FASD
alcohol consumption
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
pregnancy
prenatal alcohol exposure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Access to Document

10.1177/00333549241289035

Cite this

@article{678c362453a94d68861b96c5c230bde0,

title = "Steps Toward Decreasing Maternal Alcohol Consumption in Israel: Nationwide Trends During a Decade",

abstract = "Objectives: Prenatal alcohol exposure poses a substantial risk to fetal development. Efforts were made in 2011-2020 to increase public awareness of and prevent alcohol consumption during pregnancy. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Israel of pregnant women{\textquoteright}s alcohol consumption from January 2021 through June 2023 and compared our results with the results of a survey conducted during 2009-2010 to assess changes over time. Methods: We conducted cross-sectional surveys at 3 public hospitals in central and northern Israel. Surveyors visited hospitals twice weekly and used a questionnaire consistent with one used in 2009-2010 that focused on alcohol consumption 3 months before pregnancy and during pregnancy. We conducted a stratified analysis of the prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy by demographic characteristics. We also used a multivariable logistic regression model to examine variables associated with receiving guidance on alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Results: Of 1915 women in the 2021-2023 survey (mean [SD] age, 30.8 [5.6] y), 1204 (62.9\%) reported never consuming alcohol before pregnancy and 1708 (89.2\%) reported no alcohol consumption during pregnancy. During pregnancy, 157 (8.2\%) women reported consuming alcohol weekly or less, 12 (0.6\%) more frequently, and 52 (2.7\%) binge drinking. We found a significant decrease in alcohol consumption during pregnancy in 2021-2023 as compared with 2009-2010 (odds ratio, 0.68; 95\% CI, 0.52-0.88; P = .03). Predictors of alcohol consumption during pregnancy included alcohol consumption before pregnancy, parity, and smoking. Significantly more women in the 2021-2023 sample (n = 569; 29.7\%) than in the 2009-2010 sample received guidance on alcohol consumption during pregnancy (P < .001). Conclusions: Educational efforts should continue to increase awareness of the risks of prenatal alcohol exposure in the general population and among health professionals.",

keywords = "FASD, alcohol consumption, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, pregnancy, prenatal alcohol exposure",

author = "Yehuda Senecky and \{Zrubavel Yaaron\}, Noam and Gabriel Chodick and Andrea Berger and Liat Hen-Herbst and Fund, \{Ilana Barta\} and Manal Massalha and Ran Matot and Esther Ganelin-Cohen",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

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doi = "10.1177/00333549241289035",

language = "English",

volume = "140",

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T1 - Steps Toward Decreasing Maternal Alcohol Consumption in Israel

T2 - Nationwide Trends During a Decade

AU - Senecky, Yehuda

AU - Zrubavel Yaaron, Noam

AU - Chodick, Gabriel

AU - Berger, Andrea

AU - Hen-Herbst, Liat

AU - Fund, Ilana Barta

AU - Massalha, Manal

AU - Matot, Ran

AU - Ganelin-Cohen, Esther

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

PY - 2025/3/1

Y1 - 2025/3/1

N2 - Objectives: Prenatal alcohol exposure poses a substantial risk to fetal development. Efforts were made in 2011-2020 to increase public awareness of and prevent alcohol consumption during pregnancy. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Israel of pregnant women’s alcohol consumption from January 2021 through June 2023 and compared our results with the results of a survey conducted during 2009-2010 to assess changes over time. Methods: We conducted cross-sectional surveys at 3 public hospitals in central and northern Israel. Surveyors visited hospitals twice weekly and used a questionnaire consistent with one used in 2009-2010 that focused on alcohol consumption 3 months before pregnancy and during pregnancy. We conducted a stratified analysis of the prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy by demographic characteristics. We also used a multivariable logistic regression model to examine variables associated with receiving guidance on alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Results: Of 1915 women in the 2021-2023 survey (mean [SD] age, 30.8 [5.6] y), 1204 (62.9%) reported never consuming alcohol before pregnancy and 1708 (89.2%) reported no alcohol consumption during pregnancy. During pregnancy, 157 (8.2%) women reported consuming alcohol weekly or less, 12 (0.6%) more frequently, and 52 (2.7%) binge drinking. We found a significant decrease in alcohol consumption during pregnancy in 2021-2023 as compared with 2009-2010 (odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.52-0.88; P = .03). Predictors of alcohol consumption during pregnancy included alcohol consumption before pregnancy, parity, and smoking. Significantly more women in the 2021-2023 sample (n = 569; 29.7%) than in the 2009-2010 sample received guidance on alcohol consumption during pregnancy (P < .001). Conclusions: Educational efforts should continue to increase awareness of the risks of prenatal alcohol exposure in the general population and among health professionals.

AB - Objectives: Prenatal alcohol exposure poses a substantial risk to fetal development. Efforts were made in 2011-2020 to increase public awareness of and prevent alcohol consumption during pregnancy. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Israel of pregnant women’s alcohol consumption from January 2021 through June 2023 and compared our results with the results of a survey conducted during 2009-2010 to assess changes over time. Methods: We conducted cross-sectional surveys at 3 public hospitals in central and northern Israel. Surveyors visited hospitals twice weekly and used a questionnaire consistent with one used in 2009-2010 that focused on alcohol consumption 3 months before pregnancy and during pregnancy. We conducted a stratified analysis of the prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy by demographic characteristics. We also used a multivariable logistic regression model to examine variables associated with receiving guidance on alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Results: Of 1915 women in the 2021-2023 survey (mean [SD] age, 30.8 [5.6] y), 1204 (62.9%) reported never consuming alcohol before pregnancy and 1708 (89.2%) reported no alcohol consumption during pregnancy. During pregnancy, 157 (8.2%) women reported consuming alcohol weekly or less, 12 (0.6%) more frequently, and 52 (2.7%) binge drinking. We found a significant decrease in alcohol consumption during pregnancy in 2021-2023 as compared with 2009-2010 (odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.52-0.88; P = .03). Predictors of alcohol consumption during pregnancy included alcohol consumption before pregnancy, parity, and smoking. Significantly more women in the 2021-2023 sample (n = 569; 29.7%) than in the 2009-2010 sample received guidance on alcohol consumption during pregnancy (P < .001). Conclusions: Educational efforts should continue to increase awareness of the risks of prenatal alcohol exposure in the general population and among health professionals.

KW - FASD

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KW - fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

KW - pregnancy

KW - prenatal alcohol exposure

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JO - Public Health Reports

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ER -

Steps Toward Decreasing Maternal Alcohol Consumption in Israel: Nationwide Trends During a Decade

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Cite this