Can digital interventions prevent alcohol consumption in pregnancy?

Digital interventions have the potential to prevent pregnant women and those planning to become pregnant from drinking alcoholic beverages, suggests a study.

“In this systematic review, we found that digital interventions for preventing alcohol consumption during pregnancy may be effective in preventing alcohol consumption, especially on computer/internet-based platforms,” the researchers said.

Studies with digital interventions aimed at preventing alcohol consumption among pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant were identified from the databases of PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, and Web of Science.

The researchers conducted a random effects primary meta-analysis to assess the combined effect size and extent to which different digital platforms were successful in preventing alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Six studies met the eligibility criteria. The primary meta-analysis revealed a reduced risk of alcohol consumption with digital interventions (odds ratio [OR], 0.62, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.42‒0.91; p=0.02) compared to controls. [J Med Internet Res 2022;24:e35554]

In particular, computer or internet-based interventions (OR, 0.59, 95 percent CI, 0.38‒0.93) effectively prevented alcohol consumption in pregnancy. On the other hand, there were not enough studies to draw conclusion as regards text messaging (OR, 0.29, 95 percent CI, 0.29‒2.52).

“As expected, the most effective interventions in our review were those that incorporated both offline house counseling and internet or mobile-based feedback (ie, “blended” care) for individuals,” the researchers said. [J Med Internet Res 2014;16:e274; J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2018;27:83-92]

One study that compared 6 months of computer-tailored programs to usual care and health counseling showed that the former was more effective in reducing prenatal alcohol use than face-to-face sessions.

“Such findings show that because digital tailoring has the potential to decrease social pressure that may arise from face-to-face interactions with healthcare providers, many pregnant women may prefer it to other offline platforms,” the researchers said. [J Med Internet Res 2014;16:e274]

All studies, except for a pilot Text4Baby study, demonstrated the capacity of digital interventions to reduce the odds of drinking during pregnancy relative to comparison groups. However, these findings must be interpreted with caution as it may not hold for interventions with a low risk of bias. [BMC Public Health 2012;12:1031]

“As the first systematic review to assess the effectiveness of digital interventions targeting pregnant drinkers, our review is timely as it supports the claim that more technological interventions, possibly in combination with offline counseling strategies, should be incorporated into existing prenatal care services,” the researchers said.

“Considering the advantages of digital interventions in promoting healthy behavioural changes, future research is necessary to understand how certain platforms may increase user engagement and intervention effectiveness to prevent women from consuming alcohol during their pregnancies,” they added.

In pregnancy, alcohol consumption can lead to serious foetal health risks, as well as maternal complications, according to the researchers.