Hey Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Advocates,
Want to tip over a boat together? See, we have a problem. You already know what it is: women are hearing some very confusing messages in the media about drinking during pregnancy. Instead of wasting any more time complaining about it, think about what could happen if this TEAM of ours moved fast to the same side of the boat.
In May, we did a survey to identify our first collective target and the lucky winner is: Dr Oz! (A great choice, y’all — when he recommends Chia Seeds, the Chia Seed People run out of stock!)
Our Vision: Between August 5th – 15th, Dr Oz’s production staff will receive 5,000 emails requesting that he dedicate a segment of his show to this public health issue. (Do you think they’ve ever gotten 5,000 emails about a single topic in ten days before???)
We are not going to argue the science of small amounts of alcohol on the brain. Instead we want Dr Oz to be gripped by our concern that messages about “safe” drinking are being misunderstood, twisted and passed around among women and therefore, No Alcohol is the only no-risk public health message. We will be compelling, passionate and informative in our short emails. We will give it our best shot and feel satisfied knowing that we did SOMETHING.
I’ve attached [copied below] three different examples of short message you can send to the show. If you can, please personalize it with your particular brand of passion for this issue. If you don?t have time to add a sentence of your own, PLEASE still send one of these templates.
Here’s the link to the website – I tried it out and it took about 90 seconds to follow the link, type in my info and copy / paste one of these templates. (In the drop-box Subject line, choose “I HAVE AN IDEA FOR A SHOW”) http://www.doctoroz.com/contact
You can tip over the boat for babies and their mamas in THREE TINY STEPS:
1) Contact the show yourself. Seriously, it takes 90 seconds ? and every email matters.
2) Pass this email on to all of your contacts, with your endorsement.
3) Click on our survey – it only has one question: Where Are You From? https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HelloDrOz We want to credit every member of our FASD Team. We’ll post the State-By-State results on our website for FASD Day and we’ll figure out something snazzy to do for the winning state. (Let me warn you – Kentucky is gonna be hard to beat!) Little things add up to big things. Thank you for being a part of this.
With joy and gratitude,
Laura in KY
Please visit Kentucky’s Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders website at http://www.kyfasd.org and find us on facebook: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Kentucky
Sample Emails for Dr. Oz
Lately women have been exposed to an alarming number of media messages stating that it?s ok to drink small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy. It worries me that we are creating a generation of young women who believe that they can safely drink while pregnant. Alongside these headlines, women also need to hear the research that unequivocally states that alcohol is a neurotoxin ? a poison to their baby?s developing brain. Is there a safe amount of a poison? Each woman gets to make her own decision about that ? but it?s unfair to expect her to make that choice without giving her all the information first. I?m asking you to please devote a segment of your show to this timely public health issue. The only no-risk message for all women is No Alcohol During Pregnancy. For more information, please contact Kathleen Tavenner Mitchell, Vice-President and National Spokesperson of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS): (202) 785-4585 or mitchell@nofas.org
In June, all major news media ran headlines stating that drinking during pregnancy might be safe. Each woman does have the right to make her own choices about her pregnancy. However, it?s unfair to put her in this position without making sure that she has accurate, factual information with which to make her decision. When the media tells a woman that it is safe for her to drink ?lightly?, is she also being told that alcohol is a widely documented teratogen, a substance proven to damage or kill cells as they develop in the fetus? Unfortunately a woman has to sift through advice from friends, stories from neighbors and contradictory magazine articles in order to make a decision on behalf of her unborn child. I?m asking you to please devote a segment of your show to this timely public health issue. The only no-risk message for all women is No Alcohol During Pregnancy. For more information, please contact Kathleen Tavenner Mitchell, Vice-President and National Spokesperson of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS): (202) 785-4585 or mitchell@nofas.org
I?d like to bring to your attention an issue that is very important to me ? drinking and pregnancy. There is a lot of confusion among young women about what ?level? of drinking is safe. Is it fair to tell women that it?s safe to drink when they?re pregnant ? and then blame them if their child has problems later on? Biological mothers of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders experience blame, shame and stigma while pregnant women are being advised on national television that drinking during pregnancy is safe. No one can control how a woman interprets the message that ?light drinking? is ok. Do the media tell women it?s ok to smoke just a little when they?re pregnant? Consume just a tiny amount of lead? No. Women get very clear guidance on these subjects. With alcohol, women are left to make a weighty decision without hearing the fact that alcohol is one of the most damaging substances to a fetal brain. I?m asking you to please devote a segment of your show to this timely public health issue. The only no-risk message for all women is No Alcohol During Pregnancy. For more information, please contact Kathleen Tavenner Mitchell, Vice-President and National Spokesperson of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS): (202) 785-4585 or mitchell@nofas.org