In this report Impact Economics and Policy has estimated that the lifetime economic and social costs of exposure to alcohol during pregnancy in Australia range between $2.7 billion and $6.4 billion per year3, including:
- Between $2.4 billion and $6.1 billion due to FASD
- Between $19.9 million and $24.7 million due to miscarriage
- $244 million due to pre-term birth
- $8.8 million due to low birth weight
- $91 million due to early school leavers
In 2020, the Australian Government funded the first national campaign on alcohol, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. The National FASD Program Campaign has successfully improved awareness and reduced the number of women that consume alcohol:
- The number of Australians that agree there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy increased from 73.3 to 79.6 per cent.
- Among pregnant women that had seen the Campaign, there was a 14.2 per centage point increase in the number consuming no alcohol.
Impact Economics and Policy estimates that 16,554 fewer women consumed alcohol while pregnant in 2023 due to the Campaign, leading to:
- 2,002 fewer cases of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
- 369 fewer low birth weight babies
- 958 fewer premature births
- 414 fewer miscarriages