Healthy Pregnancy - Pregnancy and Alcohol Don't Mix Campaign

Healthy Pregnancy

The Centre for Health Promotion has been involved in state wide maternal health promotion projects for a number of years. During this time we have consulted with health professionals, services providers and community memebers to refine strategies and develop resources. This has included work around eating a healthy diet in pregnancy, quitting smoking and more recently the successful Pregnancy and alcohol don't mix social marketing campaign.

Pregnancy and alcohol don’t mix

During 2004 the Centre for Health Promotion of the Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service worked on a consultation project which resulted in the development of a resource and social marketing campaign to alert the community, and in particular women of child bearing age, to the risks associated with consuming alcohol during pregnancy.

Both health practitioners and consumers reported a lack of knowledge about the amount, timing and consequence of drinking alcohol, when pregnant or just prior to becoming pregnant. Consumers were also scathing of health promotion campaigns that are vague and/or complex in their advice to the public.

It was decided that a prudent conservative public health approach would suggest that no alcohol during pregnancy is the safest choice. Consumers from a range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds unanimously chose:

• The key message: Pregnancy and alcohol don’t mix
• The style of image reflected in our campaign
• That health services and GP waiting rooms were the best place for paper resources to be available.

Following this initial phase of the campaign a Health Monitor Report was conducted by the South Australian Department of Health in 2007. This data showed that the initial campaign was highly successful in that it increased community awareness about the key message of the campaign, that there is no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy. However, the surveyed population's ability to recognise the other key messages of the campaign was low. Only 7% of respondents were aware that during pregnancy there is no safe stage to drink alcohol and less than 23% were aware of the specific intellectual, physical, genetic and growth consequences of drinking during pregnancy.

A second phase of the campaign was promoted over the month of August in 2007. This aimed to further raise awareness of these messages. The recent campaign included a state wide distribution of posters and consumer postcards and media promotions through radio, television, bus shelters, bus interiors and bathroom posters.

If you have any questions about the campaign please feel free to contact the Project Officer.

Jo Payne

Senior Health Promotion Officer

Centre for Health Promotion

Children, Youth and Women's Health Service

Ph: 8161 7761

Email: joanne.payne@cywhs.sa.gov.au

Pregnancy and alcohol DL postcard   (563 KB)

Pregnancy and alcohol DL postcard Aboriginal  (603 KB)

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