Worse, of those woman who drank, one-third reported binge drinking, meaning they drank four or more drinks in rapid succession.
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Drinking alcohol during pregnancy puts infants at risk of developmental problems and brain damage, but one in 10 US women say they drink while pregnant, USA health authorities said Thursday. “This is an important reminder that women should not drink any alcohol while pregnant”. “It’s just not worth it”.
Between 2011 and 2013, the researchers conducted a study in which they surveyed approximately 8,300 pregnant women – ages 18 to 44 – from the United States.
Non-married pregnant women were 4.6 times more likely to binge drink than married pregnant women, the study found. One long-term Danish study found that babies of moms who drank a little were more emotionally and behaviorally adjusted, because the moms were better-educated and had a generally healthier lifestyle-not, it bears saying, because of the alcohol. However, this is likely due to changes such as the addition of cell phone surveys, rather than actual shifts in the prevalence of alcohol use.
Drinking was common among women who weren’t pregnant – 53.6 percent said they had consumed alcohol at least once during the 30 days before their interview.
“All types of alcohol should be avoided, including red or white wine, beer, and liquor”, said Cheryl Tan, an epidemiologist in CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Also, there is a higher level of drinking among college graduates and single women.
The researchers argue that the high rate of alcohol consumption should be a call for action among doctors, going as far as to suggest that pregnant women be screened for alcohol and warned of the consequences of their drinking.
“We all sometimes feel that alcohol is something which most people drink, and alcohol is not illegal, and it’s part of culture and is acceptable”, Balachova said.
This included women who are trying to become pregnant or think they might be in the early stages of pregnancy. Women have been advised to abstain from drinking since 1981. Still, the amount of binge-drinkers in this report is astounding.
Her basic message urges women to “take back their pregnancy”. Heavy drinking can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which can result in physical and behavioral problems in a child, as well as learning disabilities.
“We should not stigmatize women because many of them really might not know”, Balachova said.
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The report may underestimate how many women drink while pregnant. And women with jobs were more likely to drink than unemployed women expecting.
