World Health Organization not proposing an alcohol ban for ‘women of childbearing age’

Has the World health organization (WHO) suggested that “women of ‘childbearing potential’ should be banned from drinking alcohol”? That was the claim made by the South African radio talk show host Aldrin Sampear re-shared in a tweet on June 17, 2021 over 1,000 times.

The World Health Organization (WHO) proposes that women of “childbearing age” should be banned from consuming alcohol.

Her thoughts.

– Aldrin Sampear (@AldrinSampear) June 17, 2021

Many Twitter users replied saying the proposed ban was sexist. Something compared to the dystopian book and the television series The story of the maidwhere a Christian fundamentalist society forces fertile women to have children.

Other news outlets, including the Irish Post and the Daily mail, also reported a planned ban. South Africa TimesLive reported that the WHO wanted women of childbearing potential to “abstain from alcohol”.

Are these reports correct? We have checked.

“Draft does not recommend abstinence for all women”

In June 2021, the WHO published the first draft of its Global Alcohol Action Plan for 2022-2030. It is intended to “strengthen the implementation of the global strategy to reduce harmful alcohol consumption”.

But WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic Africa Check said media reports on the draft were incorrect.

“The current draft of the WHO Global Plan of Action does not recommend abstinence for all women who are of an age at which they could become pregnant,” he said.

“However, the aim is to raise awareness of the serious consequences that alcohol consumption can have during pregnancy, even if the pregnancy is not yet known.”

The WHO considers women of childbearing age or Reproductive age be old 15 to 49 Year old.

Suggested interventions do not include a ban on alcohol

The draft action plan, which will be revised after consultation, suggests a number of interventions to reduce the rates of Alcohol use disorders and alcohol-related deaths.

This contains Growing awareness on the risks of alcohol abuse by observing an “International Awareness Day or Week for Harmful Use of Alcohol”.

The Action plan says: “Preventing alcohol consumption in children and adolescents, preventing alcohol consumption in pregnant women and women of childbearing potential, and protecting people from pressure to drink should be given adequate attention, particularly in high-drinking societies where heavy drinkers become encouraged to drink more. “

It then discusses measures that Member States should take in order to raise awareness about the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the reduction in the incidence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can increase irreversible damage to the fetus, which leads to developmental and cognitive problems. These problems are known as FASD.

But none of these proposed measures include a ban on alcohol for women of childbearing age.

South Africa is estimated to have the highest rate of fetal alcohol syndrome in the world

A Meta-analysis 2017, a study that combines the results of other studies To draw a unique conclusion, noted that South Africa has the highest prevalence of FASD in the world.

Studies estimated the prevalence 111.1 per 1,000 Population. The Western Cape Province had the highest rates.

Dr. Lizahn Gracia Cloete is Senior Lecturer in the Occupational Therapy Department at the Stellenbosch University and has done research on FASD. She told Africa Check that while preventing pregnant women from drinking alcohol seems like a logical solution, it would be a “band-aid” approach.

“In my experience, women consume alcohol during pregnancy because they have difficulty coping with emotional illness from domestic and other forms of abuse,” she said.

Cloete said a number of systemic problems contribute to alcohol use during pregnancy, such as poor health infrastructure for women’s health, lack of legal protection and high alcohol consumption in society in general.

Conclusion: WHO recommends avoiding alcohol, but does not propose a ban

Talk radio host Aldrin Sampear and a number of local and international publications reported that the WHO is proposing to ban women of childbearing age from consuming alcohol.

The first draft of the WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan recommends “special attention” be given to preventing alcohol consumption in a number of groups, including pregnant women and women of childbearing potential.

However, the organization said it had not proposed banning women of childbearing potential from drinking alcohol. Instead, it has been suggested to raise awareness of the effects of alcohol abuse on fetal development.

Hence, we judge this claim to be false.

source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/world-health-organization-not-proposing-an-alcohol-ban-for-women-of-childbearing-age/