Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder can have life long debilitating effects and researchers want to stop the affliction before it starts.
FASD prevention is the focus of a two-day conference in Saskatoon which is trying to get the word out on the harmful effects to a child caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
Colleen Dell, the research chair in substance abuse at the University of Saskatchewan, says it is difficult to say conclusively how seriously Aboriginal communities in the province are affected by FASD but there is no doubt it is an issue.
“We do know that we have higher rates of problematic drinking among Indigenous people right in Saskatchewan, so that probably gives you an indication,” she says.
Minister of Social Services June Draude adds the provincial government is trying to target its FASD prevention strategy in northern Saskatchewan at the youth level.
“We do have a very unique group of individuals, youth that are working with northern youth, going to the schools and going to towns and talking to them about binge drinking,” she says.
It is estimated that as many as 1.7 million Canadians could have FASD and 56,000 people in Saskatchewan.
A recent report found that FASD costs Canada’s healthcare system and related services as much as $4 billion per year.
The conference wound up on Tuesday afternoon.