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Developmental Care and Follow-Up of Infants Exposed to Alcohol and/or Drugs in Utero: An Australian Benchmarking

Marla Laverie1, Catherine Clark1, Millicent Cram1

  • 1The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.

Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
|August 3, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Limited Australian services offer targeted care for infants exposed to alcohol and/or drugs (AoD) in utero. This highlights a critical gap in standardized assessment and follow-up for this high-risk population.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal care
  • Developmental pediatrics
  • Public health

Background:

  • Infants exposed to alcohol and/or drugs (AoD) in utero face significant developmental risks.
  • Early intervention is crucial for mitigating these complications.
  • Australia currently lacks specific guidelines for allied health care for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate current service delivery models for infants exposed to AoD in utero across Australia.
  • To identify existing follow-up health services for this high-risk group.
  • To explore allied health involvement and identify barriers to care.

Main Methods:

  • A custom-designed survey was emailed to 43 Australian hospitals with neonatal follow-up services.
  • Reminders were sent over a two-month period to encourage survey completion.
  • Response rate was 35% (15 out of 43 services).

Main Results:

  • Only 20% of responding services offered targeted AoD care.
  • 33% utilized formal developmental or screening tools.
  • Inconsistent allied health involvement and follow-up timing were noted.
  • Lack of dedicated funding was a major barrier (80% reported no funding).

Conclusions:

  • A significant lack of standardized assessment and follow-up processes exists for infants exposed to AoD in utero.
  • The low response rate is consistent with previous health professional surveys.
  • There is an urgent need for research and development of clinical guidelines for this population.
Abstract

Keywords:
alcohol and drug exposurebenchmarkfollow‐upneonatologysurvey

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