Researchers report that a series of five brief counseling sessions was effective in getting high-risk women to quit drinking during pregnancy and start using birth control, Reuters reported Jan. 12.

A study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that women who took part in the counseling sessions and were interviewed nine months later were twice as likely to avoid risky drinking, use contraception, or both. "What we were able to do was to help the women become aware that they were at risk, and subsequently they made decisions to change their risk behavior," said CDC researcher R. Louise Floyd.

Prior to the study, the 830 women who took part in the study did not use reliable birth control and reported binge drinking or consumed eight or more alcoholic drinks per week. More than half were considered alcohol-dependent, more than 90 percent used illicit drugs, and more than 70 percent smoked.

The study was published in the January 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.