Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder – The Nurse’s Role

Dr. Mary Dawn Koenig is an AWHONN Board Member and Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing. She’s been active in the care of pregnant people for over 27 years. The overarching aim of her research is to improve maternal and child health outcomes, specifically by studying how these outcomes are affected by the bidirectional relationship between nutritional status and the development and function of the body’s immune and inflammatory response. Dr. Koenig has served as an AWHONN abstract reviewer and corresponding and panel member of the Research Advisory Panel. She’s also volunteered as a community advisory board member for the March of Dimes. Dr. Koenig works with the community organization NewMoms where she develops programming related to nutrition, meal planning, and stress reduction techniques.

Gina Schumaker is an advocate who experiences Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). She was unaware of having this disability until receiving the diagnosis at the age of 50. She had long blamed herself for her challenges, but now that she understands she has a brain-based disability, she’s much more forgiving of herself. Gina utilizes the variety of available strategies that help her and advocates so that clinicians and the general public can learn how to work with someone with a brain-based difference. She’s making that happen as a Vice-President of the Board of Directors for the Alaska Center for FASD.

Lily Bastian dedicates her practice to providing comprehensive midwifery care to all individuals. She clinically teaches Student Nurse-Midwives, Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners and OBGYN Residents. Lily’s research interests include the evaluation of psychosocial issues with young people living with HIV, trauma-informed care, sexual and reproductive health, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) prevention. She earned her Master’s in Nursing with a Specialty in Certified Nurse-Midwifery (CNM) from the Yale School of Nursing and holds a Bachelor Degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Alexandra Edwards is a senior research professional with the Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Among her current projects, she manages the Women’s Health Nurses and Midwives Collaborate for Alcohol-Free Pregnancy which aims to increase awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and the promote evidence-based strategies to prevent alcohol-exposed pregnancies to advanced practice nurses, women’s health nurses, and midwives. Her research interests include the relationship between health, disease and culture, culture-based perceptions of health and disease, and health communication.