Light Drinking While Pregnant? Think Again
This article is a response to Light Drinking While Pregnant Now Okay?. Emphasis added by Diet Blog Editor.
A rash of recent newspaper stories suggesting that light drinking during pregnancy may be beneficial for an unborn child are alarming to many of those in the medical community. These misleading and irresponsible reports followed a recently published study by the University College, London suggesting that 3-year-old children whose mothers drank "lightly" during pregnancy were not at risk for certain behavioral problems. The erroneous interpretation by the lay press about some "beneficial" effects of drinking during pregnancy was NOT part of the study's findings.
Indeed, the comments by the media also run counter to research studies indicating that low levels of alcohol can damage a fetus.
The results from the study by Dr. Yvonne Kelly and colleagues must be interpreted with extreme caution for reasons that were overlooked in subsequent news reports. First, the "light drinkers" in this study were more socially and economically advantaged compared to both the heavier drinkers and the women who did not drink during pregnancy. Higher socio-economic status is generally associated with better nutrition, prenatal care and postnatal care-giving environments. The study's authors suggested that any apparent differences in child development between the light drinkers and abstainers may be due to social factors, not drinking.
Second, the study focused only on children up to three years of age. Generally, the adverse effects of light drinking during pregnancy are subtle and may go undetected in young children. However, other group studies of more moderate or "social" drinking levels during pregnancy have shown an adverse impact on multiple aspects of development through adolescence and young adulthood, even when important environmental factors are taken into account.
Third, "light drinking" was defined in the study as anyone who had "no more than one or two drinks a week or no more than two drinks on an occasion." This broad categorization includes patterns of drinking that have been shown to affect fetal brain development in laboratory research studies.
Public health policymakers, health care providers, and the public all want to understand the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Studies of pregnant women may not provide clear answers. But carefully controlled laboratory research studies clearly show that the blood alcohol levels that occur with "light drinking" can interfere with biological processes that are critical for proper development of the fetal brain. Repeated consumption of this amount of alcohol during pregnancy has also been shown to cause functional brain damage and behavioral problems.
It is an inconvenient fact of life that alcohol is a "teratogen," that is, a chemical that can cause physical or functional birth defects. Prenatal exposure to alcohol is widely accepted to be a risk factor in child development, which may be associated with other prenatal or environmental risk factors. Other risk factors include smoking, stress, poor nutrition and diseases affecting a mother's health, such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. As risk factors accumulate, developmental outcomes are usually less positive.
The consensus recommendation of the hundreds of scientists and clinical investigators, who study Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, along with public health officials around the world, is very clear - a woman should abstain from drinking during pregnancy as part of an overall program of good prenatal care that includes good nutrition, adequate exercise, sufficient rest, and proper prenatal health care.
Contributed by the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group.
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Unbelievable what people will try to get away with. Is it really THAT hard to wait 9 months before drinking? I have absolutely no tolerance for anyone who smokes or drinks during pregnancy.
ReplyI think we need to stop the emotional arguments about "empathy" for the unborn child, the sledging, etc etc... and focus on what is actually known. Facts, figures, real science and real reports, not hysteria or gut feelings.
If, as the original poster of this blog claims "This broad categorization includes patterns of drinking that have been shown to affect fetal brain development in laboratory research studies" that's really important information that should be shared. And by shared I mean documented. What studies? Where can I see them? Without anything to back up a claim (either the original posters or any of the respondents) then we are just going around in circles.
Show me the evidence.
ReplyYes, it is. We do the right thing, but it's hard. Save the self-righteous condemnation. Jesus doesn't judge us the way you do.
ReplyI think people stress out way too much. Our mothers smoked cigarettes, took acid, drank whatever, and we came out fine. As for Berto, I hope nobody bears a baby for you, that's an ugly attitude.
We're just not that fragile. No raw fish? Tell that to the Japanese, the healthiest people on earth. If you take good care of yourself, are nutritionally balanced (not many are), why would a glass of wine hurt? Not shit-faced drunk, or smoking crack, but we're not fragile baby-machines who should be locked up during gestation. Lighten up!
ReplyI totally disagree with you. i looked some things up for school and a sip of wine can cause your baby to have fatal syndrome, thats not right im 16 and im a girl and drinking and smoking is horrible for your baby!!!!!!!!
ReplyI have absolutely no problem with your overall message, but would it hurt to actually quote your sources? I could claim anything with the line "other studies have shown"...
And Berto I think for some people it might be about "getting away" with it - but there are lots of women who are very responsible, but don't necessarily have a lot of health or nutritional realated knowledge. They are the ones who might read the reports about light drinking and assume it is "ok", whereas otherwise they might not have drunk at all.
ReplyI think people stress out way too much. Our mothers smoked cigarettes, took acid, drank whatever, and we came out fine. As for Berto, I hope nobody bears a baby for you, that's an ugly attitude.
We're just not that fragile. No raw fish? Tell that to the Japanese, the healthiest people on earth. If you take good care of yourself, are nutritionally balanced (not many are), why would a glass of wine hurt? Not drunk, or smoking crack, but we're not fragile baby-machines who should be locked up during gestation. Lighten up!
ReplyI was almost insulted until I realized it came from someone whose blog is named "Smoke Yourself Thin". Wonderful.
Regardless, wishing me infertility (or the equivalent) is quite an awful thing to say and you should be ashamed. Anyone who gets the privilege of carrying my offspring and sharing their DNA with mine is not going to be putting toxic substances into our child.
9 months is not too much to ask. End of story. Call responsible parenting 'uptight' all you want, you will be wrong every time.
FYI - My mother did NOT smoke or do acid, especially while having her children. Even high fructose corn syrup was hardly around. Speak for yourself, I'm no acid baby. Good luck with yours.
ReplyThe privilege of carrying your child? That's rich. If my husband acted like his genes were some kind of gift I should be thankful for, I'd laugh at him. And I hope he'd be similarly amused if I adopted the same ridiculous attitude. A child is a gift... eggs and sperms? Not so much.
ReplyUh, how did I wish you infertility? If you read it carefully (as you didn't read my blog, obviously), I'm wishing that nobody enjoys your company enough to breed with you. And that the world doesn't want your self-righteous holier-than-thou parenting skills. If there's anything that messes up children, it's not an occasional glass of wine, it's crappy nutrition and our hectic lifestyles. And neurotic parenting.
ReplyDon't forget that the Illuminati also plays a part in the self destructive lifestyles people live.
ReplyYou have a lot of great comments Julie.
thanks for sharing them.
Master Lee Mochow
P.U.
Unity for all Humanity
Unless you decide you don't want your baby and then according to our Government you have the right to have your baby murdered.
ReplyWhat government are you living under? Murder is by definition an illegal act.
ReplyI have to agree with Berto on this one.
Are pregnant mothers really willing to take the risk of the potential defects that can occur upon consuming alcohol (regardless of the amount)?
And like the article said, certain defects will not appear until later in the child's life. By that time, it will be too late to have regrets just because the mother couldn't wait nine months for a social drink.
ReplySorry guys, you need to take a step back here and realise how insane this is.
As if a glass of wine here or there will have any negative effect on pregnancy. Seriously. It's ridiculous. All this holier than thou BS is too much.
Listen: even if you’re pregnant - have a glass of wine here and there, drink a beer once in a while, go completely nuts and eat some bread or pasta. I guarantee there will be minimal negative effects.
ReplyOne more thing - behavioural problems in medical terms are themselves a fallacy, a symptom of our society where everything has to be categorised so new ‘diseases’ are born. Behavioural issues are not a medical issue, they are a social issue. Certainly they are not caused by light drinking in pregnancy.
ReplyIf very light drinking during pregnancy causes 'behavioral defects' later in life, why is (for example) Germany not a hotbed of randomly screaming toddlers and surly teens? While living there, I saw scads of pregnant women enjoying the occasional glass of wine or half pint of beer. I'm not suggesting that alcohol will have zero effect on a fetus or that there are beneficial effects (who said that?), but I'm really curious to know when these behavioral effects are supposed to manifest, whether this is a percentages thing, and how they determine that behavioral problems are caused by drinking during pregnancy rather than social factors, nutrition, or some other thing.
ReplyBerto, I agree. And for those insulting Berto, and pushing the idea of the occasional drink while pregnant, I am baffled. WHY???? Why is it SO necessary to have that occasional drink if there is so much debate on the outcome of the health of the baby? For god's sake, just DON'T DRINK AT ALL for nine months. I promise you, abstaining from that occasional glass of wine will NOT kill you or hurt you in any way. This entire blog and website in fact is about what people should and shouldn't have to abstain from ingesting for the sake of their health. But now people get all up in arms about getting to have that potentially harmful drink if they WANT it?
Keep in mind, the potential harm is not on YOU, it's on another life. I know that it's an unfortunate mistake of mother nature that healthy offspring requires some sacrifice on the part of pregnant women, but that is not social or religious, that is a biological fact of evolutionary life. Accept it and deal with it, grow up and see that nine months without that wine with dinner is a small sacrifice, or don't get pregnant. End of story.
Oh, and if anyone insults me about not reproducing (as was done to Berto), keep in mind I'm stressing the imporance of devoting all that can be given to that unborn baby for the sake of THAT CHILD'S health. If you insult me (or anyone) for that, then you are clearly incapable of empathy for innocent unborn life (or a closet alcoholic in denial.)
ReplyI love my occasional glass of red wine, but while I was pregnant with both of my children, I abstained. I also abstained from coffee, over-the-counter meds, and anything else I wouldn't feed a newborn baby. I don't think I'm all that because of this choice...I just wasn't sure if the effects of alcohol or other regularly-used subtances could be harmful or not, so I opted to go without. Instead, I took extra good care of my body to ensure that I delivered the healthiest babies possible. I felt good taking such good care of them and myself. They're 19 and 17 today and perfectly healthy and, despite a few colds and bouts of the normal childhood stuff, always have been. Maybe they would have been anyway, but I wasn't willing to take any chances.
ReplyI am definetly not promoting drinking of any alcoholic beverages during pregnancy, however, I had my second child in Belgium and I was encouraged by my doctor to have a glass of red wine with my dinner each night.
It seems that we are so worried about addiction (alcohol, food, meds, nicotine) in this country, that abstaining would be the more prudent approach.
ReplyI think that the crux of the argument is the definition of "light" drinking. When people talk about an "occasional" drink, do they mean several per week, or several over the course of the pregnancy (e.g. a glass of wine at a special occasion). I doubt that the true rare glass of wine over the course of pregnancy will make a difference in the long run, particularly when you think about the number of other toxins pregnant women are exposed to over the course of an average day. However, the definition of light drinking apparently used in this study was more what I would call a "regular" drinking habit (1-2 drinks per week). That is a different animal entirely and gets into what I would assume is dangerous territory with the total amount of alcohol consumed over the course of the pregnancy.
ReplyWhat you have the baby has. Why risk a child's future health for the sake of booze.
When I was pregnant (a long time ago) I didn't even feel like drinking.
As a Mum baby has to come first.
ReplyGod, I'm glad I don't want kids. All the stress about worrying what you can and can't eat/drink/do when you're pregnant would probably throw me into preterm labor. Seriously, our bodies are capable of processing out quite a bit of the environmental toxins they're exposed to. I'm not saying we should smoke and drink and get high while carrying our children, but a piece of tuna and a glass of red wine once a week is probably not going to do much damage. My sister-in-law continued to take communion (about one sip of wine) once a week while she was pregnant. And my nephew was born absolutely fine, so it's not like alcohol is going to kill your baby. I tend to be of the opinion that most fetal damage happens when women drink excessively so that their livers can't keep up with the alcohol, thus exposing the fetus to too much alcohol.
ReplyWasn't there another article on this blog saying it is ok to drink a little? I said "Why risk it?" and a bunch of people were jumped on me defending the drinking.
ReplyI think we need to stop the emotional arguments about "empathy" for the unborn child, the sledging, etc etc... and focus on what is actually known. Facts, figures, real science and real reports, not hysteria or gut feelings.
If, as the original poster of this blog claims "This broad categorization includes patterns of drinking that have been shown to affect fetal brain development in laboratory research studies" that's really important information that should be shared. And by shared I mean documented. What studies? Where can I see them? Without anything to back up a claim (either the original posters or any of the respondents) then we are just going around in circles.
Show me the evidence.
Reply"Show me the evidence" wrote an interested blogger. Any person can find the evidence his/herself; it's no secret. All one need do is visit PubMed, which is the web repository for published scientific articles. Search on "fetal alcohol syndrome" or "Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders" and you will see lots of publications. Happy reading!
ReplyMore...you can read the entire statement from the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group at the link below. Click on the links within and you will find a selected series of references therein. These represent a small selection from the much larger scientific literature on the subject of pregnancy drinking and its consequences.
http://www.rsoa.org/fas.html
ReplyIt is an article full of life and joie de vivre, really such an article is more than apt in this addiction ridden world. Narconon Vistabay is there until the end of time to execute the efforts of the author to the reality in educating and erasing the turmoil of narcotics from the chapter of human civilization.
ReplyI don't see why there is a huge debate here. It's the individual woman's choice whether she will drink lightly during her pregnancy or not. If she wants to have a glass of wine with her dinner or with her non-pregnant girlfriends every once in a while so that she doesn't feel like an absolute alien, then that is completely her choice. It cannot be made for her by anyone else. She can be advised by her doctor (and it would probably be considerate to ask her husband at least how he feels about it it's his kid too), but that's really it. It's her body, her child. End of story.
ReplyJust because this topic interests me, and I hate how the choices of the individual are so often trampled when the least bit of evidence shows they can be, and how politics has invaded and bastardised science:
http://dovercanyon.typepad.com/women_wine_critics_board/2006/01/wine_and_pregna.html
Reply