Wellington, Feb 13 NZPA - Doctors and nurses want more education to help them warn pregnant women of the dangers of alcohol and drug use.

The Alcohol Healthwatch study, by Dr Trecia Wouldes of Auckland University, found only 25 percent of the 241 doctors and nurses surveyed could correctly identify the four main criteria for a diagnosis of foetal alcohol syndrome, despite it not changing for 35 years.

"Most of those surveyed indicated they would welcome further training on advising women about the dangers of alcohol and drug use during pregnancy. Many also said they would find it useful to have a standard set of questions about alcohol and drug use that they could go through with patients," Dr Wouldes said.

Most healthcare workers believed pregnant women should abstain from drinking and drug taking, but said there were gaps in their knowledge.

Some said they were less likely to question women about the subject in certain circumstances, she said,

"For example, they may not discuss alcohol and other drug use with women from a culture or economic background they perceived to be at low risk.

"More education from training institutions for current and future medical practitioners would help them feel more confident in dealing with alcohol and drug use issues."

Many women continued to drink and use drugs during pregnancy, and "disorders from such exposure are at unacceptable levels across society", Dr Wouldes said.

"Health professionals are uniquely placed to prevent another generation from unnecessary risk and it is important that their education be increased dramatically."

Alcohol Healthwatch director Rebecca Williams said the healthcare workers' knowledge gap made the sensitive issue worse.

"Previous studies have focused on what women do during pregnancy but little was known about the sort of advice they were receiving from their doctor or midwife. The findings from this study show we have a great opportunity to work with health professionals."

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