What does that mean, “screen them for alcohol use”?
DR. FLOYD: Predominantly, what we would like is to ask about alcohol use. More than half of all childbearing age women, about 53 percent, report that they use alcohol, or that they consume alcohol. Therefore, it’s not an unusual or uncommon practice. What we would like to see health care providers asking is simply questions such as on how many occasions during the week do you consume alcohol, have a drink of beer, wine, or an alcohol beverage. Then, on typical days, when you’re drinking, how many drinks do you usually have. And then you really want to move toward the target, asking how many times a week do you consume five or more alcohol drinks in one occasion. Those simple questions can provide the information needed to identify an individual who is drinking above–or if it’s not a–this is someone who is a nonpregnant woman–that allows you to identify women who are drinking above the guidelines of the federal advisory, and therefore would put them beyond the moderation point and wo
