Health Notes: Northland effort to curb fetal-alcohol syndrome draws national spotlight

A St. Louis County program aimed at reducing the number of babies born with fetal-alcohol syndrome has earned national notice.

Superior Babies has earned the 2013 Emerging Practices Award from the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, a St. Louis County news release said.

The program, which began in 1998, is carried out by the county’s Public Health and Human Services Department in collaboration with Arrowhead Center Inc. Its goal is to identify and serve pregnant women who were suspected or known to use or abuse alcohol and other drugs and work with them to increase positive birth outcomes.

The free and voluntary program provides scheduled home visits by both a public-health nurse and a licensed alcohol and drug counselor.

In 2010, 31 babies were born to mothers in the program, and 96 percent of them were normal in birth weight and other measures, the news release said.

Superior Babies provides services for pregnant women in northern St. Louis County. For more information, call (218) 749-0600 or visit stlouiscountymn.gov.

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