AUGUSTA – State health officials have announced that Maine has achieved another milestone in improving the health of parents and children in the state.

According to results released by the Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics, the proportion of mothers who drank alcohol during pregnancy has declined by more than 50 percent over the past 10 years.

Nearly 11 percent of pregnant women reported drinking alcohol during pregnancy in 1990.

As a result of education initiatives over the last decade, as well as the efforts of many health care providers, that number fell to less than 6 percent in 1999.

Early indicators suggest that this number continued to decline in 2000.

Kevin W. Concannon, commissioner of the Department of Human Services, took the occasion to congratulate Maine physicians, nurses and prenatal care programs, including providers of the Women, Infants and Children initiative.

“This development is due in no small part to the efforts that the state has made to assure that pregnant women have early access to health care services regardless of income,” he said.

“Pregnant women in Maine have clearly received appropriate advice concerning the dangers of using alcohol during pregnancy, and that advice has made a difference.”

Significantly, over that same period of time, there was no appreciable decline in the national rate of alcohol consumption by pregnant women.

Approximately 13 percent of pregnant women nationally are reported to have consumed alcohol during pregnancy – more than 7 percent higher than in Maine.

Dr. Lani Graham, acting director of the Bureau of Health, cautioned that while the decline in the number of women drinking alcohol during pregnancy is encouraging, the number is still too high.

“This decline is wonderful news for Maine children and Maine parents, but nevertheless there is no safe use of alcohol during pregnancy.

Even with these gains, there are roughly 750 Maine infants each year who are still at risk for alcohol-related problems.”

These problems include fetal alcohol syndrome, spontaneous abortion, growth retardation, and in the worst case, infant death.

The information in the survey was made available through the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, which collects information from mothers two to four months after the births of their babies, regarding their behaviors before, during and immediately after pregnancy.

It has been conducted in Maine since the late 1980s with funding provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State officials advise any pregnant woman who is drinking alcohol during pregnancy to inform her primary care physician immediately.

Those interested in more information on treatment for substance abuse issues may call the Maine Office of Substance Abuse at (800) 499-0027, TTY at (800) 215 7604, or check www.state.me.us/bds/osa.