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Aboriginal People in Manitoba 2000 Chapter 2 : Health

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and the related condition of Fetal Alcohol Effects, consists of neurological impairments that result in delayed growth, intellectual and behavioural disabilities, and in the worst cases (FAS) facial abnormalities. The danger is greatest during the first trimester, before women often realize they are pregnant. It has been estimated by the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse that the lifetime cost to society of one FAS child is as much as $1.4 million.³³

In February 1997, results were announced of a study of 179 children at one on-reserve Manitoba school. The researchers reported that 11 children were found to be diagnosable as FAS and another six as FAE, from which it was estimated that almost 10% of the students had features of alcohol-related damage. If so, this would be 50 times the world and Canada-wide rate of about 0.2%.³⁴

However, the 1999 National Report of the First Nations and Inuit Regional Health Survey cautions that:

Although a few case studies suggest that FAS is more common among Canadian Native children than non-native children, there is yet no good evidence to support this conclusion. For instance, researchers have studied FAS in Native communities without including a non-native comparison group. When a comparison group has been included, it is not clear that criteria for FAS have been applied consistently to both groups. To date, a valid comparison of the prevalent rates of FAS for Natives and non-Natives has not been carried out.³⁵

Interestingly, researchers for the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY, 1994-95) found that, of the 17.1% of mothers who had consumed any amount of alcohol during their pregnancy, most were older (age 35-39), and more affluent and highly educated than average – a profile hardly resembling Aboriginal mothers. The NLSCY found no correlation between alcohol use during pregnancy and post-natal complications, though its sampling method was not targeted to capture FAS/FAE sufferers.³⁶

Only 20 children in the entire Winnipeg School Division #1 have been “diagnosed conclusively” with FAS or FAE. However, school officials claim “there are many more who haven’t been diagnosed who suffer the same learning disabilities.”³⁷ Apparently, more research is required before the extent and impact of FAS/FAE can be understood.