Researchers: Dr Cathy McAdam, Professor John Boulton (Kimberley Health WACHS), Ms Maureen Carter (Nindilingarri Cultural Health), Associate Professor Damien Jolley (The Alfred Centre)
Funding: Internal
Project summary: The senior women of Fitzroy Crossing achieved alcohol restrictions in October 2007 after a long and hard path of advocacy. The 12-month review undertaken by the Nulungu Centre for Indigenous Research for the WA Department of Health Office of Drug and Alcohol showed that the result of the intervention could be measured in substantial benefits to social well-being in the community, not least the amount of money spent on food. Since the alcohol restrictions were in part motivated by the high incidence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (now the focus of the community-wide Lilliwans survey), it is relevant to seek objectives measures of benefit for the unborn child. Birth size is the most robust measure of overall fetal growth; it is also readily available as every newborn baby is accurately measured and the results recorded in the hospital notes as well as in the WA Midwives perinatal data collection. This data also contains the maternal age and any medical complications of the pregnancy. It contains maternal smoking status but does not contain maternal intake of alcohol.
The proposal is to undertake a clinical audit of birth measures with the aim to make a comparison of birth size between babies born of mothers identifying as being from Fitzroy Crossing (postcode 6765) before and after the alcohol restrictions came into place in October 2007. The objective is to assess whether this intervention had any effect on birth weight, length and head circumference, and if there was any change in gestational age, maternal age at delivery or incidence of medical complications of pregnancy such as gestational diabetes. The audit will comprise an analysis of de-identified data from the Midwives Perinatal data collection over the period 2005-2009 to encompass the periods before and after the introduction of alcohol restrictions in October 2007.
Progress: Completed in 2013