Due to the risks it poses to a child’s health, drinking alcohol during pregnancy is a serious problem that the public health sector is struggling to deal with. The reasons why women who do not have alcohol problems do not give up drinking alcohol completely during pregnancy are still poorly understood. And the knowledge available about them does not translate into communication strategies in Poland. The analysis of standards and examples of good practice allows to formulate proposals for improving the quality and effectiveness of social campaigns addressed to the general population and women of childbearing age in order to reduce the risk associated with the prenatal exposure to alcohol.
Probably the most influential, especially among local stakeholders, has been “Ciąża bez alkoholu” [“Pregnancy without alcohol”] initiated by PARPA (State Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems) in 2007. It managed to engage various institutions, local authorities and NGOs and significantly contributed to the spread of awareness of the harmful effect of alcohol consumption during pregnancy on the health of an unborn child. The campaign’s slogan “I don’t drink to his health” referred to the most common Polish toast: “To health!”. By definition, the campaign was positive, did not stigmatize pregnant women and did not threaten with damages resulting from PAE. Instead, it showed a somewhat schematic, idealized image of a happy family that had little to do with real-life stories. Currently, the educational website with the same title (Pregnancy without alcohol) is available for general population and professionals (www.ciazabezalkoholu.pl, accessed on 16 February 2022).
It may be concluded that the visibility of FASD prevention campaigns is very limited. Most women of childbearing age have never seen such activities at all. Although there are some examples of campaigns clearly avoiding scaring, criticizing or stigmatizing alcohol consumption during pregnancy, but there are also examples of activities based on the opposite approach. In all campaigns, the messages are rather simple and clear (“do not drink alcohol during pregnancy”). The emotional load of campaigns using threatening strategies is much stronger than in “positive” campaigns, but still, most of the addressees do not identify themselves with it, thinking that it is rather directed to people addicted to alcohol. There are no campaigns using testimonials or referring to the mental strategies used to justify moderate drinking during pregnancy.