• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Alcohol and pregnancy policies: Birth outcomes & prenatal care use by race

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
July 1, 2019
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

In the U.S. state policies pertaining to alcohol use during pregnancy have been in effect for more than 40 years.

These policies include:

  • Mandatory warning signs
  • Priority access to substance abuse treatment for pregnant women
  • Requirements to report evidence of alcohol use during pregnancy to law enforcement or child welfare agencies– or to a health authority for the purposes of data gathering and treatment
  • Laws that define alcohol use during pregnancy as child abuse/child neglect
  • Laws that limit toxicological tests as evidence in criminal prosecutions of fetal or child harm
  • Involuntary commitment of pregnant women to treatment or to protective custody.

Previous research has found that some of these policies increase adverse birth outcomes and decrease prenatal care use.

This research examines whether effects of alcohol/pregnancy policies vary by race.

The authors examine 1972-2015 Vital Statistics data and policy data. The dataset includes more than 150 million singleton births. Outcomes are preterm birth (PTB), low birthweight (LBW), and prenatal care use.

Results show that the effect of alcohol/pregnancy policies varied by race for preterm birth, varied in a few cases for low birthweight, and generally did not vary for prenatal care use.

For White women, most policies had adverse effects on PTB and/or LBW including policies intended to support pregnant women who use or abuse alcohol such as mandatory warning signs laws, priority access to substance abuse treatment for pregnant women and for pregnant women with children, laws that limit toxicological tests as evidence of fetal or child harm, reporting requirements for data gathering and treatment purposes and prohibitions against criminal prosecution. One policy that is punitive toward pregnant women – child abuse/neglect laws – was also associated with adverse effects.

For Black women, four policies had beneficial effects for PTB including policies supportive of women: mandatory warning signs laws and reporting requirements for data and treatment purposes. Additionally, two policies that are punitive – civil commitment laws and reporting requirements to child protective service laws – were associated with beneficial effects on PTB.

The authors conclude that the effect of alcohol/pregnancy policies on birth outcomes varies by race. Future research should explore why some policies appear to have opposite effects for White and Black women.

###

Source: Roberts, S., Berglas, N.F., Subbaraman, M.S., Mericle, A.A., Thomas, S., & Kerr, W.C. (2019). Racial differences in the relationship between alcohol/pregnancy policies and birth outcomes and prenatal care utilization: a legal epidemiology study. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 201, 244-252.

PIRE is an independent, nonprofit organization merging scientific knowledge and proven practice to create solutions that improve the health, safety and well-being of individuals, communities, and nations around the world. http://www.pire.org

The Prevention Research Center (PRC) of PIRE is one of 16 centers sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), of the National Institutes of Health, and is the only one that specializes in prevention. http://www.prev.org

The Resource Link for Community Action provides information and practical guidance to state and community agencies and organizations, policy makers, and members of the public who are interested in combating alcohol and other drug abuse and misuse. https://resources.prev.org/

If you would like more information about this topic, please call Sue Thomas at 831.429.4084 or email her at thomas.pire.org

Media Contact
Kathy Stewart
[email protected]
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.04.020

Tags: AddictionAlcoholPublic HealthScience/Health and the LawSocial/Behavioral Science
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Bipolar Configurations in Adult Spine Deformity Analysis

October 2, 2025

CNIO Researchers Develop the “Human Repairome”: A Comprehensive Catalogue of DNA “Scars” Paving the Way for Personalized Cancer Therapies

October 2, 2025

NJIT Study Reveals Vision Therapy Restores Clarity from Concussion-Induced Double and Blurred Vision

October 2, 2025

Mental Health Advances Most Strongly Predict Increased Life Satisfaction

October 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    91 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    80 shares
    Share 32 Tweet 20
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Bipolar Configurations in Adult Spine Deformity Analysis

Short-Course Radiation Therapy Following Prostate Surgery Reduces Cancer Recurrence Risk

CNIO Researchers Develop the “Human Repairome”: A Comprehensive Catalogue of DNA “Scars” Paving the Way for Personalized Cancer Therapies

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.