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undeterred

(34,658 posts) Tue Jun 17, 2014, 11:02 PM Jun 2014

The Unexpected Reason Alaska’s Bars Are Giving Away Pregnancy Tests

Cute outfit? Check. Designated driver? Check. Pregnancy test? That’s one item that’s probably not on the night-on-the-town prep list of the average American woman. But in an effort to counter skyrocketing rates of fetal alcohol syndrome, Alaska’s government is funding a research project that will put vending machines with free pregancy tests in the restrooms of 20 bars across the state. This pee-on-a-stick-before-partying idea isn’t entirely new. In order to curb fetal alcohol syndrome in Minnesota, the nonprofit organization Healthy Brains for Children put pregnancy test dispensers in a Minneapolis-area bar in 2012.

However, since Alaskan women of child-bearing age are 20 percent more likely to binge drink than their peers across the nation, Alaska has the highest known rate of the syndrome, which causes birth defects and other physical and mental problems in babies. On top of the human costs, according to a 2009 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fetal alcohol syndrome also costs the U.S. economy $3.6 billion annually.

Depending on how much alcohol a pregnant woman consumes, an in utero fetus can develop the syndrome within a month of conception, making early notification of pregnancy an essential part of prevention. Back in March, Alaska Sen. Pete Kelly proposed a bill that would fund the initiative. Although the University of Alaska will run the project, Healthy Brains founder Jody Allen Crowe agreed to help out.

Starting in December, the vending machine pregnancy tests will be completely free to female patrons of the bars, thanks to $400,000 allocated by the state. Each test will come labeled with warnings about fetal alcohol syndrome. The dispenser will also feature a poster about the dangers. The project will only give away 5,000 free tests, so Crowe and the University of Alaska researchers hope that even if women don’t actually head to a bathroom stall with one, the accompanying messaging will help educate the public about the risks of drinking while expecting.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/06/16/alaska-giving-women-free-pregnancy-tests-bars?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2014-06-17

18 replies

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Highlight:

The Unexpected Reason Alaska’s Bars Are Giving Away Pregnancy Tests (Original Post) undeterred Jun 2014 OP

Interesting. blue neen Jun 2014 #1

how insulting TorchTheWitch Jun 2014 #2

Yep. Apparently women are stupid and infantile leftstreet Jun 2014 #4

The defects caused by fetal alcohol syndrome are lifelong and irreversible. undeterred Jun 2014 #5

and it's still insulting TorchTheWitch Jun 2014 #6

Its so insulting to use toilet paper from a bar bathroom. undeterred Jun 2014 #7

no, and I didn't say that TorchTheWitch Jun 2014 #8

Maybe these bars are a better class than the ones you frequent muriel_volestrangler Jun 2014 #13

LOL, that's why you don't take the first 6 sheets, you spin some off first snooper2 Jun 2014 #16

It takes $400,000 to give away 5,000 pregnancy tests? Very accurate tests can be bought in bulk >$1. LeftyMom Jun 2014 #3

You can buy them at the Dollar Tree, in fact. Quantess Jun 2014 #10

$400,000 is the total cost of the project including monitoring how effective it is muriel_volestrangler Jun 2014 #14

For a moment there, I thought it said "Alaska's BEARS" n/t. Ken Burch Jun 2014 #9

Humiliated by their loss to the Chicago Bears undeterred Jun 2014 #11

Wouldn't they be better off passing out condoms? jmowreader Jun 2014 #12

not if the women are already pregnant dsc Jun 2014 #15

Yeah, but you lock the barn door so other animials don't escape snooper2 Jun 2014 #18

I read "Alaska's Bears" PasadenaTrudy Jun 2014 #17

blue neen

(12,319 posts)

1. Interesting.

Reply to undeterred (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 11:22 PM

Jun 2014

It's a worthy cause, but would it possibly be better to concentrate on preventing pregnancy?

TorchTheWitch

(11,065 posts)

2. how insulting

Reply to undeterred (Original post)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 12:01 AM

Jun 2014

Waste of money to boot. As if every woman in a bar has a drinking problem and is pregnant or will be. That money could have gone to far better use in raising awareness by putting it toward the group of people that it matters to - pregnant women who drink alcohol.

And what insulting things are the men of Alaska subjected to in the men's bathrooms of bars? Nothing? That's what I thought.

leftstreet

(36,106 posts)

4. Yep. Apparently women are stupid and infantile

Reply to TorchTheWitch (Reply #2)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 12:18 AM

Jun 2014

Someone must look out for their interests since they're clearly incapable of doing so

undeterred

(34,658 posts)

5. The defects caused by fetal alcohol syndrome are lifelong and irreversible.

Reply to TorchTheWitch (Reply #2)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 12:37 AM

Jun 2014

"Alaskan women of child-bearing age are 20 percent more likely to binge drink than their peers across the nation, Alaska has the highest known rate of the syndrome, which causes birth defects and other physical and mental problems in babies."

This is a way of targeting women who might not know they are pregnant but would refrain from drinking if they knew they were pregnant and that drinking alcohol could affect a fetus in the very early stages.

TorchTheWitch

(11,065 posts)

6. and it's still insulting

Reply to undeterred (Reply #5)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 12:59 AM

Jun 2014

Putting pregnancy tests in the women's bathrooms in bars is the wrong way to go about raising awareness to the people that need it... those women that are pregnant or may become pregnant and intend on staying pregnant in order to give birth who also drink a lot of alcohol. It is insulting to imagine that all women in bars are problem drinkers that either are pregnant or will become pregnant and continue the pregnancy, and if you can't see why that is I can't help you.

Who would even use a pregnancy test from a bar bathroom anyway? Just having to use the toilet paper is bad enough.

undeterred

(34,658 posts)

7. Its so insulting to use toilet paper from a bar bathroom.

Reply to TorchTheWitch (Reply #6)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 01:01 AM

Jun 2014

TorchTheWitch

(11,065 posts)

8. no, and I didn't say that

Reply to undeterred (Reply #7)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 02:15 AM

Jun 2014

It's gross.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,311 posts)

13. Maybe these bars are a better class than the ones you frequent

Reply to TorchTheWitch (Reply #8)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 08:40 AM

Jun 2014

that have such 'gross' toilet paper.

Why do you think that this "imagine(s) that all women in bars are problem drinkers that either are pregnant or will become pregnant and continue the pregnancy"? The tests aren't given to all the women. The machines are there if they want to use them, and the messages are there for people they may apply to. A poster saying "don't drink and drive" in a bar is not insulting those who never would. But putting them in bars is an obvious way of targeting them at problem drinkers, and, being a test, it gives the answer to the other part - woman that are pregnant.

snooper2

(30,151 posts)

16. LOL, that's why you don't take the first 6 sheets, you spin some off first

Reply to TorchTheWitch (Reply #8)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 10:00 AM

Jun 2014

Throw that in the crapper, then you have the clean clean to use on your person!

LOL...

I thought everybody knew that

LeftyMom

(49,212 posts)

3. It takes $400,000 to give away 5,000 pregnancy tests? Very accurate tests can be bought in bulk >$1.

Reply to undeterred (Original post)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 12:08 AM

Jun 2014

Also if early pregnancy detection is vital to this effort than having tests in a bar isn't helpful: urine tests are most accurate with one's first morning urination, because the hormone levels build up overnight. Otherwise false negatives are likely in early pregnancy.

Seems to me that this is a bad idea and run badly. They'd be better off spending that money on better access to pregnancy prevention.

Quantess

(27,630 posts)

10. You can buy them at the Dollar Tree, in fact.

Reply to LeftyMom (Reply #3)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 02:21 AM

Jun 2014

Good point. Sounds like a waste of money.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,311 posts)

14. $400,000 is the total cost of the project including monitoring how effective it is

Reply to LeftyMom (Reply #3)

Wed Jun 18, 2014, 08:47 AM

Jun 2014

Researchers plan to give away free, state-funded pregnancy tests in the bathrooms of 20 Alaska bars and restaurants beginning in December.

The two-year, $400,000 University of Alaska effort aims to study if posters that warn women against drinking while pregnant work better when pasted on pregnancy test dispensers rather than simply hung on a wall. Alaska has the highest known rate of fetal alcohol syndrome in the U.S., with women of child-bearing age 20 percent more likely to binge drink here than the national average.
...
The wall-mounted pregnancy test dispensers are one foot wide, two feet tall and cost about $800 each, Crowe said. Each test will be labeled with an FASD-prevention message and cost the state about $1.50.

All told, as many as 5,000 tests will be distributed over 12 months, according to the project proposal.

http://www.adn.com/2014/06/13/3516167/coming-soon-to-alaska-bars-free.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1

There's also talk there about contraception availability too.