Drinking While Pregnant

San Diego State University
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Drinking while pregnant has significant risks to the expecting mother. Unfortunately, statistics show that about 12 percent of US women drink at least some amount during pregnancy and around 2 percent binge-drink. Earlier this year the CDC confirmed that those percentages have not changed significantly in the past 18 years. From a health perspective, drinking while pregnant can seriously impact fetal development and the resulting fetal alcohol syndrome may take a lifetime of intensive treatment to manage.

Drinking alcohol while pregnant

Consumption of alcohol while pregnant essentially introduces toxins into the growing baby which may impact their development. Many women however, choose to consume a glass of wine while pregnant or periodically have one or two drinks. While the risk of damage may be lower with less frequent consumption, researchers have not yet determined what, it any, level of alcohol consumption is safe for the expecting mother. As a result, there is almost universal agreement that women should avoid drinking alcohol while pregnant.

Choline may help while pregnant

For those mothers who are unsuccessfully battling addiction, there may be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. A study being done in San Diego State University is studying the effects of alcohol consumption on 600 pregnant women in the Ukraine. The study is looking at the nutrient choline to see what effect, if any, it will have on the women and their babies. In looking at the quote form the AP press release that announced the drinking while pregnant study.

“Nutrition plays a powerful role in proper development of the brain and nervous system: Getting enough folate during pregnancy, for example, can prevent spina bifida and related birth defects. And significant alcohol consumption interferes with mom’s ability to absorb various nutrients, in turn affecting whether her fetus gets enough. So Thomas’ group tested choline, a precursor to a brain chemical that plays a key role in learning. She exposed pregnant rats to alcohol during a third-trimester spurt of brain growth. Giving the mother rats extra choline — or, importantly, giving newborn pups the nutrient — significantly improved the pups’ later ability to learn.”

In addition to choline, zinc and a few other vitamins and minerals are being evaluated to see if they have an effect on these conditions. The best advice however, is to still have a healthy and varied diet. While pregnant, take care of your health, eat right, avoid toxins, and enjoy your pregnancy.

Overall, abstinence from alcohol while pregnant is the best approach to ensuring that drinking alcohol does not affect the baby. In addition to nutrition status, genetics, and levels of consumption, there are numerous other factors that determine if drinking alcohols during pregnancy will affect the baby. With all those variables, and the risk of an unpleasant outcome, why risk it?

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 2:57 pm and is filed under while pregnant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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