I had posted to PSYTEACH about this thread though it didn't get past the moderator.
My sense was that the posts back and forth started to read like debates regarding death penalty, abortion, and personal computer platforms-- useful information and arguments had been made on both sides but after some point, nobody's opinion was going to be further changed by the discussion. Patrick -- Patrick O. Dolan, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Chair of Psychology Drew University Madison, NJ 07940 973-408-3558 [email protected] >>> On 2/6/2009 at 11:50 AM, "DeVolder Carol L" <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear Tipsters, > I tried posting this on the other list (PSYTEACH) but it was rejected > because it serves no purpose to carry this any further since it has > strayed from the "teaching of psychology." This list is easier, and if > you're not interested, then just delete it. I think it relates to > teaching psych because I want to provide my students with what I > consider valid information. So, I'm copying what I sent to the other > list for what it's worth. The question on PSYTEACH to which I am > referring dealt with how much alcohol is safe during pregnancy, and > whether we are using scare tactics to unnecessarily frighten people. > > I've been waiting to write this message because I wanted to hear back > from a colleague, Dr. Jennifer Thomas, at San Diego State University. In > my opinion, Jennifer is a well-respected expert in this field and is > past president of the Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group. I also > went to grad school with Jen and remember her work with rat pups and > their exposure to alcohol (that's my disclosure about potential bias, > but really I'd still consider her an expert). I asked her for her > opinion on acceptable levels of alcohol ingestion during pregnancy and > the threshold for adverse fetal effects, and she acknowledged that there > is very active debate on the topic, with the consensus in the US being > somewhat different from the consensus in the UK. (The position in the US > is abstinence, in the UK the accepted level is a glass per day.) In her > words, "The problem really is that there is so much variability in > response to alcohol(genetics, nutrition, other exposures) that one > cannot make a prediction of the risk for an individual and so there is > NO known safe level of alcohol exposure during pregnancy. We certainly > see changes with low levels of exposure with the animal models. It is > more difficult to study in humans." Jennifer also pointed me to two > sites, which I am including here: http://www.rsoa.org/fas.html and > http://www.rsoa.org/fas-Response.pdf . The second link has a reference > list. > > My opinion remains unchanged--I still believe in complete abstinence > during all phases of pregnancy. I realize there are anecdotes about > people who drink and their "baby came out just fine," but I'd rather be > safe than sorry as much as possible. > > Carol > > > > > > > > Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > Chair, Department of Psychology > St. Ambrose University > Davenport, Iowa 52803 > > phone: 563-333-6482 > e-mail: [email protected] > > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
