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The effects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) are life-long. But in trying to prevent FASD, are campaign messaging and imagery actually helping reduce the amount of alcohol consumed during pregnancy?

That’s what Taylor Watkins, M.A. Interdisciplinary Health, decided to find out.

Taylor’s thesis is titled, Supporting Healthy Pregnancies: Understanding Pregnant Women and New Mothers’ Perspectives Regarding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Campaigns to Inform Effective and Non-Stigmatizing Prevention Approaches in Northeastern Ontario. 

“We’re trying to address the stigmatization around current and existing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder prevention campaigns and trying to bring about a non-stigmatizing campaign for Northeastern Ontario specifically,” explains Taylor. “A lot of current FASD prevention campaigns use negative emotions, such as fear, guilt, and shame to evoke responses that encourage women to abstain from consuming alcohol during pregnancy. But is that really working?”

“There are so many other factors contributing to an individual consuming alcohol, whether that’s family environment, partner influence, addiction – these go way beyond the scope of just seeing someone consuming alcohol while pregnant and judging based on that.”

There’s a reason Northern Ontario is Taylor’s focus point. Having been born and raised in Sudbury, Laurentian was a natural choice for her post-secondary education. The program, opportunities and smaller campus all appealed to her immediately. And having been a student there for the past five years, she has found a depth in both the academic offerings and the encouragement she’s felt every step of the way.

“My passion in pursuing FASD research began when it came time to complete my fourth-year undergraduate thesis.” recalls Taylor. “I realized that continuing my research in my graduate studies would allow me to pursue my passions for addressing public health issues, for working with developmental disabilities and for promoting public health in general. All the things that are important to me.”

The support and encouragement of her research supervisors, Dr. Kelly Harding, Director of Research Administration at Canada FASD Research Network and Dr. Shelley Watson, Teaching and Learning specialist and Professor Emerita at Laurentian cemented Taylor’s decision. 

“My research is primarily focused on pregnant women and new mothers up to one-year postpartum and getting their honest opinions and feedback on existing FASD prevention campaigns. We want to give them a voice in what they want to see that will make a real difference in their lives and decision-making.”

One of the biggest challenges to Taylor’s research? The nature of FASD itself.

“The symptomatology of FASD varies greatly from one individual to the next, so it can be hard to diagnose, research has also shown that due to the limited diagnostic services and the scarcity of effective prevention initiatives in rural, remote, and northern communities, many FASD cases go undiagnosed altogether.” says Taylor. “That makes it difficult to get a full picture of the situation, which is of course critical to addressing it effectively.”

“To my knowledge there are only two articles out there - one from 2008 and another from 2017 - specifying that FASD is a progressively growing concern in rural, remote, and Northern communities, including Northern Ontario.”

“Yet there’s no context supporting that statement, and that is where I’m coming in, trying to address that lack of information.”

Taylor Watkins has received her ethics approval and is now proceeding with the data collection process of her research while looking to go on to earn her PhD.