Fergus McCarthy and colleagues from Ireland, England, New Zealand, and Australia compared birth outcomes among 5, women who were pregnant for the first time between and More than half of them reported drinking alcohol during the first three months of pregnancy. Twenty-five percent reported low alcohol consumption, or three to seven drinks per week "a drink" defined as a glass of wine or a little less than a ounce bottle of beer.
Rates of premature birth, babies with low birth weight or small size, and pre-eclampsia—a potentially life-threatening condition in which a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure—were similar across the alcohol consumption categories.
For the past few decades, women have been urged to avoid alcohol during pregnancy. Respected medical societies like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the United Kingdom's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Women both say women shouldn't drink any alcohol during pregnancy.
The main reason for this is that heavy use of alcohol during pregnancy has been linked to a long-term and irreversible condition known as fetal alcohol syndrome FAS. Babies with FAS may be born early.
Read more advice on cutting down your drinking. Find maternity services near you. Page last reviewed: 29 January Next review due: 29 January Home Pregnancy Keeping well in pregnancy Back to Keeping well in pregnancy. Drinking alcohol while pregnant. Is it safe to drink alcohol when pregnant? How does alcohol affect my unborn baby?
When you drink, alcohol passes from your blood through the placenta and to your baby. Symptoms include: poor growth distinct facial features learning and behavioural problems Drinking less heavily, and even drinking heavily on single occasions, may be associated with lesser forms of FAS.
How to avoid alcohol in pregnancy It may not be as difficult as you think to avoid alcohol completely during pregnancy, as many women go off the taste of alcohol early in pregnancy. If you're concerned, talk to a midwife or doctor. What is a unit of alcohol? Holiday Handbook: Browse shopping deals, recipes, tips for gathering safely and more.
Editor's note: This story was first published in On June 17, , the World Health Organization sparked an outcry when a draft of its "Global Alcohol Action Plan" suggested that all women of childbearing age — not just those who are pregnant — abstain from alcohol, just in case.
I am one of those people who rarely drinks, not because I disapprove of it, but because it makes me sick. Two glasses and I risk spending the entire next day in bed. So, the destination wedding was turning out to be the best party I had enjoyed in a long time; for the first time in years, I was able to enjoy the alcohol that was being served in frightening quantities.
The thought of accidentally drinking while pregnant is one that never really occurred to me, but it probably should have: I learned a short time later that I was pregnant. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a similar warning , citing longstanding advice that no one knows if even one drink is too much. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a serious disorder.
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