Experiences of Pregnancy in Scottish Mothers
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Identifying the predictive factors of alcohol use during pregnancy: data from Scottish expectant mothers
IRAS ID
318909
Contact name
ruth brown
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Alcohol use during pregnancy remains a significant public health concern, with prenatal alcohol exposure (‘PAE’) estimated to effect 41.3% of pregnancies in the UK. Alcohol can have damaging effects on the baby and can impact on how its brain develops. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a common outcome of PAE and can negatively affect how the person functions; across their memory, attention, emotional understanding, and ability to follow tasks. While it is thought that 3% to 5% of the UK population has FASD, given the recent trends in alcohol sales and harmful alcohol use in Scotland, it is likely that these rates are higher in Scottish people.
Many factors are known to increase PAE risk. For example, health choices made pre-pregnancy (e.g., pregnancy planning) and lifestyle choices (e.g., smoking) may make a pregnancy more likely to be alcohol-exposed. Individual (e.g., socioeconomic status and mental wellbeing), social (e.g., level of social support and experiences of intimate partner violence), and historical (e.g., adverse childhood experiences) factors have also been found to influence PAE risk.
These life experiences have not been investigated within the same sample of pregnant women. Thus, we propose a study which will capture these experiences of pregnant mothers, using an anonymous online questionnaire. Mothers will be recruited from advertisement posters, placed in the waiting rooms of GP practices and midwifery units across Scotland. Mothers will be invited to share their past and current life experiences though reading through statements and rating to what extent they agree or disagree with them. Mothers will also be asked about alcohol use, both before and during her pregnancy. It is expected that the survey will take 25 minutes to complete.
The study has been funded by the Scottish Government.REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EM/0065
Date of REC Opinion
13 Mar 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion