Risky Bodies: Allocation of Risk and Responsibility within Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Prevention Campaigns

Abstract

This paper examines utilization of risk and responsibility discourses within FASD public health promotion messages. In this qualitative case study, using data from 23 semi-structured interviews with those in charge of managing FASD and document analysis, I examine discourses invoked within FASD prevention and awareness campaigns deployed by the province of Alberta, Canada. The research findings demonstrate that within such FASD discourses, the unborn child is depicted as at-risk and the woman carrying the child is seen as being responsible for creating this risk. This is possible due to the neo-liberal tenet of individualism that occludes the structural factors that contribute to alcohol consumption and, perhaps FASD itself. This research on FASD is distinct from other studies on risk and responsibility because it recognizes and explores the separation of bodies that are considered to be at "risk" from those that are deemed to be "responsible" for creating such risk. This paper concludes with an in-depth discussion on the implications of using discourses of risk and responsibility within FASD prevention campaigns.

Strong Born—A First of Its Kind National FASD Prevention Campaign in Australia Led by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) in Collaboration with the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs)

“…They underscored the urgent need to develop materials that could be used by health professionals on FASD that were culturally safe and appropriate. It was recognized that FASD prevention campaigns often only focus on women's behavior around alcohol consumption during pregnancy and provide messages such as alcohol and pregnancy do not mix but often do not take a whole-of-community approach [36]. The focus of the Strong Born Campaign, informed by the audit, was to be as inclusive of the community as possible.…”

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

“…In addition to risk information, many public health campaigns present FASD as a preventable spectrum of disorders, which can lead to significant victim-blaming and most certainly ignores the complexity of potential factors that lead some women to consume alcohol during pregnancy. In some public health campaigns, additional focus is placed on the greater impact of FASD via, for example, messages about the financial and societal costs of FASD (Shankar, 2016). Clearly, these kinds of public health efforts can seriously undermine the provision of effective support services to women who use alcohol during pregnancy and individuals with FASD18,32,46.…”