Source: March of Dimes
What they say? Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause physical and mental birth defects. Each year, up to 40,000 babies are born with some degree of alcohol-related damage. Although many women are aware that heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause birth defects, many do not realize that moderate—or even light—drinking also may harm the fetus.
In fact, no level of alcohol use during pregnancy has been proven safe. Therefore, the March of Dimes recommends that pregnant women do not drink any alcohol—including beer, wine, wine coolers and hard liquor—throughout their pregnancy and while nursing. In addition, because women often do not know they are pregnant for a few months, women who may be pregnant or those who are attempting to become pregnant should abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages.
Recent government surveys indicate that about 13 percent of pregnant women drink during pregnancy. About 3 percent of pregnant women report binge drinking (five or more drinks on any one occasion) or frequent drinking (seven or more drinks per week). Women who binge drink or drink frequently greatly increase the risk of alcohol-related damage to their babies.
When a pregnant woman drinks, alcohol passes swiftly through the placenta to her fetus. In the unborn baby’s immature body, alcohol is broken down much more slowly than in an adult's body. As a result, the alcohol level of the baby's blood can be even higher and can remain elevated longer than the level in the mother's blood. This sometimes causes the baby to suffer lifelong damage.
In February 2005, Dr. Richard H. Carmona, surgeon general of the United States, warned pregnant women and women who may become pregnant about the risks of alcohol during pregnancy.
What are the hazards of drinking alcohol during pregnancy?
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause a number of birth defects, ranging from mild to severe. These include mental retardation; learning, emotional and behavioral problems; and defects involving the heart, face and other organs. The term "fetal alcohol spectrum disorder" is used to describe the many problems associated with exposure to alcohol before birth. The most severe of these is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a combination of physical and mental birth defects.
Consuming alcohol during pregnancy also increases the risk of miscarriage, low birthweight (less than 5½ pounds) and stillbirth. A 2002 Danish study found that women who drank five or more drinks a week were three times more likely to have a stillborn baby than women who had less than one drink a week.