Prenatal Alcohol Counseling Among American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Non-Hispanic White Women in the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System

Objective

Universal screening and counseling are recommended for alcohol use during pregnancy, but no prior study has examined differences in prenatal counseling by race or ethnicity. We used Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data to assess differences in provision of counseling on prenatal alcohol use between American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) women during prenatal care.

Methods

We analyzed data from 2014–2015 from the four PRAMS states with the highest number of births to AI/AN women: Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Washington. We estimated the prevalence of prenatal alcohol use, associated risk factors, and prenatal alcohol prevention counseling for AI/AN (n = 1,805) and NHW (n = 5,641) women. We then conducted multivariable logistic regression modeling stratified by race to estimate factors associated with receipt of prenatal alcohol prevention counseling. All analyses were weighted and accounted for the complex sampling design of PRAMS.

Results

Results showed that AI/AN women were counseled on prenatal alcohol use more often than NHW women (77% vs. 67%, p < .05), although the likelihood of any prenatal alcohol use was the same in both groups. The likelihood of prenatal drinking increased with age, education, and income in both groups. Higher education levels were significantly associated with lower risk of prenatal alcohol counseling receipt among AI/AN women. Compared with those with less than a high school diploma, AI/AN women with a college degree or more had 39% reduced risk of receiving counseling (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45–0.83). Among NHW women, living at 100% to 199% of the Federal Poverty Level was associated with lower risk (aRR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79–0.98) of counseling receipt compared with women living below the federal poverty line. Higher parity was significantly associated with lower risk of counseling for both groups of women.

Conclusion

Although race was not associated with prenatal alcohol use, AI/AN women were more likely than NHW women to be counseled about prenatal alcohol exposure. Factors associated with counseling receipt differed between the two groups. These findings suggest that receipt of counseling is associated with sociodemographic characteristics, and that counseling is not universally provided. More efforts to provide universal counseling are warranted.