In plain words
The AUDIT-C is a three-question screen for drinking. It asks how often you drink, how much you drink on a typical day, and how often you have six or more drinks on one occasion. Each answer gets points, and a total of 3 or more is a common threshold for a closer look for women. It is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. Many clinicians use it at postpartum visits. Honest answers help a provider understand what support may be useful. Support for alcohol use is available to mothers who find drinking hard to control or who are worried about it.
The deeper version
The AUDIT-C is a three-item alcohol screen derived from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, covering frequency, typical quantity, and frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Each item is scored 0 to 4, for a total of 0 to 12. Screening with the AUDIT-C is validated for adult women, where a score of 3 or more is the commonly used positive cut-off (Bradley and colleagues, 2007). The USPSTF (Curry and colleagues, 2018) recommends screening adults, including pregnant women, for unhealthy alcohol use and providing brief counseling. Breastfeeding guidance from professional societies generally addresses alcohol timing and exposure rather than blanket abstinence. The controversy concerns whether short screens are sufficient and how often screening should be repeated in the postpartum year.
Where it comes up
What mothers here say about AUDIT-C
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- Bradley KA and colleagues, Journal of General Internal Medicine — AUDIT-C as a brief screen for alcohol misuse in women (2007)
- US Preventive Services Task Force — Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Adolescents and Adults: Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions (Curry and colleagues, 2018)