Helen Howlett

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Senior Commissioner for CYP & Maternity at NENC NHS ICB

Aim There are barriers to midwives engaging in conversations about alcohol with pregnant women. Our aim was to capture the views of midwives and service users to co‐create strategies to address these barriers. Design Qualitative description. Methods Structured Zoom‐based focus group interviews of midwives and service users where we presented know...

To reduce the number of alcohol-exposed pregnancies in antenatal care in the UK, the CHAMPION study objective was to design appropriate training and resources to develop the midwifery skills and confidence required to have an effective conversation about alcohol with pregnant women. Women with lived experience of drinking during pregnancy and ‘bir...

Estimates for the UK suggest that alcohol consumption during pregnancy and prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) – the most common neurodevelopmental condition – are high. Considering the significant health and social impacts of FASD, there is a public health imperative to prioritise prevention, interventions and support. In this art...

Estimates for the UK suggest that alcohol consumption during pregnancy and prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)-the most common neurodevelopmental condition-are high. Considering the significant health and social impacts of FASD, there is a public health imperative to prioritise prevention, interventions and support. In this article...

Background: We previously investigated the prevalence of alcohol consumption in early pregnancy in Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, a locality of north-east England. The prevalence was 1.4% based on blood sample biomarker analysis using carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) and 3.5% for gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). Aims: To su...

Background: NHS England's 'Better Births' strategy aims to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. A strategic priority identified in the north-east local maternity system is to reduce alcohol consumption in pregnancy due to the documented diverse risks of harm to mother and baby, including foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Aims: To evaluat...

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is acknowledged as the leading known cause of preventable non-genetic learning disability in the Western world. FASD is a lifelong condition which is only caused by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). It is crucial that women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy are fully informed with clear, evidence based...

Background Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are one of the most common preventable forms of developmental disability and congenital abnormalities globally, particularly in countries where alcohol is considered socially acceptable. Screening for alcohol use early in pregnancy can facilitate the detection of alcohol-exposed pregnancies and i...

Providing appropriate antenatal and postnatal care for women who drink alcohol in pregnancy is only possible if those at risk can be identified. We aimed to compare the prevalence of alcohol consumption in the first trimester of pregnancy using self-report and blood biomarker analysis. Six-hundred routine blood samples from 2014, taken at the anten...

Providing antenatal and postnatal support for women who drink alcohol in pregnancy is only possible if those at risk can be identified. However, screening will only be helpful if women feel comfortable with the method used. We conducted a survey of pregnant women and their partners to investigate self-reported beliefs and practice regarding drinkin...

Accurate and early identification of women at risk from alcohol consumption during pregnancy allows education and support programmes to be targeted at those most in need. We aimed to conduct a systematic review to compare the efficacy of blood analysis and maternal self-report in detecting at risk women during pregnancy. This review investigated di...

A survey was distributed among new breastfeeding mothers in northern England to gain insight into their experiences with different forms of neonatal vitamin K prophylaxis. Two-thirds of mothers were knowledgeable about the reasons for giving vitamin K and a quarter felt that they had not received adequate information on the subject. The importance...