Hello I am doing a research report on FASD and have told to bring more awareness around the topic and inform other about it and that is what I shall do

I am writing this as I am concerned about FASD in New Zealand and also the fact that Pregnancy Alcohol Warning Labels On Bottled Alcohol, as they a very small and very hard to spot and I feel if they were bigger and stand out It will help educate people about FASD and the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) refers to a range of problems caused by exposure of a fetus  to alcohol during pregnancy. FASD is a diagnostic term for neuro development disorder which results from prenatal alcohol. Individuals who can experience physical, development, behavioral and learning and intellectual problems that can get worse as the individual ages. Research has consistently found the brain to be the organ most sensitive to the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol, as the brain is developing throughout the entire pregnancy. There is no data on the prevalence of FASD in New Zealand, but international studies and expert opinion suggest that around 3 to 5 percent of people may be affected by the effects of alcohol exposure before birth. This implies that around 1800- 3000 babies may be born with FASD each year in New Zealand.

However I would like to see the government and ministry of health  consider making pregnancy alcohol warning labels bigger and maybe add a website the would redirect to information so this is educating other people about the problem.

This change would lead to less alcohol exposure to unborn children and less babies born with FASD . This would be a excellent change in New Zealand because at least 1800- 3000 babies are born with FASD each year and this disorder causes them to have long term problems for the rest of their life which makes everyday tasks more difficult for them than someone who didn't have FASD.

As a young person in New Zealand, this is an important issue to me because I have been diagnosed with FASD. I feel like FASD is a huge problem worldwide but it is a huge problem in New Zealand and that there needs to be more awareness of drinking alcohol and doing high class A drugs while pregnant as it can cause significant damage to an unborn baby. I have recently been diagnosed with FASD and I have had a huge passion of bringing more awareness on the topic as it needs to be talked about more and people need to understand what it is like to live with the disorder. I struggle everyday, learning new things is a huge struggle for me as I take much longer to take things in and understand what is being said because I learn differently. During Primary school making friends were quite easy but as I got older it started getting more difficult because I lacked social skills.

I hope that this brings some awareness around the topic