It’s National Women’s Health Week (May 14-20), an opportunity for social workers to encourage women to make their health a priority, including avoiding drinking too much alcohol. With their distinctive skillset and as key providers of mental and behavioral health services in a wide range of settings, social workers are in a unique position to prevent risky drinking among women. 

As National Women’s Health Week (May 9-15) kicks off this Mother’s Day, the need for women to take care of their health has grown in urgency. Women’s increased alcohol use to cope with the pandemic may lead to drinking problems and other health issues, including cancer, heart damage, brain damage, and liver disease. Women of reproductive age also risk prenatal alcohol exposure and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).