Alcohol, Smoking, and Drug Use Among Inuit Women of Childbearing Age During Pregnancy and the Risk to Children

Abstract

Background-Alcohol consumption during pregnancy, a known teratogen often associated with drug use and smoking, is a well-known public health concern.

Full Issue

“…For example, substance use intervention programs should have a wider focus to encompass affect and impulse management with culturally respectful strategies. The surprising association between alcohol abuse and higher education was also found in the Qanuippitaa survey and in the present cohort during the pregnancy period (Muckle et al, 2011). It may be explained by the fact that the more educated women have larger incomes, providing them easier access to alcoholic beverages that are very expensive in the North.…”

“…Half of the Inuit surveyed used marijuana in the year preceding Qanuippitaa, and 47.1% were at risk of alcohol-related problems (Muckle, Boucher, Laflamme, & Chevalier, 2007), compared with 7.8% and less than 5%, respectively, in women in the general Canadian population (Government of . Our team (Muckle et al, 2011) recently reported a high prevalence of alcohol use, smoking, and drug use during pregnancy in a sample of 248 Nunavik women from the Hudson Bay region who participated in the Environmental Contaminants and Child Development (ECCD) study. Rates of smoking, alcohol use, binge drinking, and marijuana use were 92%, 60%, 38%, and 36%, respectively.…”

“…Disagreements were discussed until a consensus was reached. We also recorded illicit drug use during the postpartum year for marijuana, cocaine (including crack cocaine), solvent sniffing, heroin, psilocybin mushrooms, phencyclidine (PCP), sedatives, and amphetamines (see Muckle et al, 2011, for detailed descriptions of the interviews about alcohol and drug use). Smoking during the postpartum year (including number of cigarettes per day) was documented with questions from the Santé-Québec Health Survey Among the Inuit of Nunavik ( Jetté, 1992).…”

Mieux comprendre les croyances associées à la consommation ou non d'alcool après un enseignement sur l'ensemble des troubles causés par l'alcoolisation foetale chez les femmes innues enceintes de la communauté d'Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam /

“…«Il importe toutefois de noter que les études sur la consommation d'alcool pendant la grossesse ont porté de façon disproportionnée sur les femmes autochtones et les régions qu'elles habitent, ce qui soulève certaines questions méthodologiques » (Tait, 2003) Peu d'études épidémiologiques ont examiné la consommation d'alcool chez les femmes autochtones au Canada. Les données qui existent sur ce sous-groupe proviennent généralement d'enquêtes nationales (Muckle, et al, 2011;Roberts & Nanson, 2000). Une de ces études démontre que les femmes autochtones sont plus susceptibles que les hommes ou les femmes allochtones de s'abstenir de boire de l'alcool.…”

“…Les femmes autochtones sont plus à risque parce qu'elles sont exposées à des milieux sociaux où la toxicomanie, la consommation d'alcool et la violence sont répandues (Muckle, et al, 2011;Stout, Kipling, & Stout, 2001). Initialement, la consommation d'alcool chez les Premières Nations était considérée comme une activité agréable mais dû à des facteurs historiques (colonisation), la consommation d'alcool fut adoptée comme moyen pour échapper aux changements face à l'autonomie individuelle et collective (Tait, 2003).…”