Implementation of antenatal care addressing alcohol consumption.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Implementation of antenatal care addressing alcohol consumption during pregnancy
IRAS ID
297560
Contact name
Lesley Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
If a woman's drinking exceeds the threshold for low risk, this can have a long-term adverse impact on health. Globally, alcohol is the leading risk factor for miscarriage, premature birth, intra-uterine growth restriction and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), and can cause deaths and disability in females aged 15-49 years.
UK alcohol guidelines adopt a precautionary approach and advocate abstinence during pregnancy, and recommend that all pregnant women are advised about the risks of alcohol, and where appropriate to intervene with brief interventions or refer to specialist services.
However, there is no standardised approach to assessment of alcohol consumption and provision of advice by midwives, meaning potential problem drinking goes unrecognised. Furthermore, alcohol is not systematically recorded on the National Maternity Data set. Alcohol exposed pregnancy and/or continued alcohol consumption during pregnancy is often not identified or recorded by healthcare professionals.
To address this, we have co-developed implementation strategies to support midwives in addressing a woman's alcohol consumption during antenatal appointments. We will assess the feasibility and acceptability of the implementation strategies in two NHS Trusts in North East England. We will recruit midwives in each Trust to implement the strategies in the selected sites.We will purposively recruit and interview 12-15 midwives who implemented the strategies and 12-15 women who had antenatal appointments with these specific midwives to explore their experiences of implementing the strategies (midwives) and receiving alcohol advice and support (women). We will evaluate (i) the implementation feasibility, and (ii) trial feasibility to inform the recruitment predictions for a larger study.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0009
Date of REC Opinion
18 Mar 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion