Page 55 - Zero for nine: Reducing alcohol use during pregnancy via health counselling and Internet-based computer-tailored feedback

Partner support to prevent prenatal alcohol us
Introduction
Alcohol use by pregnant women is one of the leading preventable
causes of damage to the unborn child (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2002). Several psychological and educational interventions
have been developed to prevent prenatal alcohol use (Stade, et al.,
2009). In line with many cognitive behavioural models (Ajzen, 1985;
Janz & Becker, 1984; De Vries, et al., 2003) important cognitive factors
have been taken into account in these interventions, such as attitude
towards abstinence and self-efficacy (Reynolds, et al., 1995; Chang, et 3 al., 1999). However, despite the importance attached to social influence
in determining health behaviour (Ajzen, 1985; De Vries, et al., 1995), partner support has thus far received relatively limited attention in these intervention studies.
There is sufficient evidence for the effect of partner support on a pregnant woman’s behaviour. For example, research on smoking during pregnancy has shown that partner support has a positive effect on smoking cessation during pregnancy (Ginsberg, Hall, & Rosinski, 1991; McBride, et al., 2004; Koshy, et al., 2010). Furthermore, research on breast- feeding has consistently identified fathers as an important source of support in the decision to breast-feed and its implementation (Wolfberg, et al., 2004; Tarrant, et al., 2010). With regard to prenatal alcohol use, research has also shown that partner support affects a pregnant woman’s drinking behaviour (Ockene, et al., 2002). One randomised trial showed the effectiveness of a patient-partner intervention on prenatal alcohol consumption for heavy drinkers (Chang, et al., 2005). These studies imply that prenatal alcohol use can more effectively be prevented when partner support is incorporated in these interventions. This requires that researchers are aware of how to increase partner support. Nevertheless, no study has thus far been conducted on the correlates of partner support to abstain from prenatal alcohol.
This study was designed to fill this gap and aimed to identify the correlates of partner support to abstain from prenatal alcohol. The Integrated Model for Motivational and Behavioural Change (I-Change
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