Pregnant women in many countries drink an occasional glass of wine while pregnant, but in the United States, this practice is generally frowned upon. With so much conflicting information regarding the effects of alcohol during pregnancy, it can be difficult to figure out what to do. Before opening a bottle yourself, talk to your doctor about the risks and current research on the topic, and assess your own reasons for wanting to drink during your pregnancy.
Controversy
Both the the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommend that pregnant women not consume any alcohol during pregnancy. However, some individual doctors allow their patients to consume a small amount of wine as long as they limit their consumption to only one or two glasses per week.
Alcohol Dangers
According to BabyCenter, drinking alcohol during pregnancy can raise the risk of miscarriage and preterm birth, as well as possibly contribute to developmental problems after birth. The most significant danger comes when mothers drink more than four drinks in one sitting or more than seven drinks per week. Heavy or frequent drinking can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, or FAS, a condition characterized by poor fetal growth, poor growth after birth, abnormal facial features and brain, heart or spine defects.
Wine Research
While there has been plenty of research on the effects of heavy drinking during pregnancy, few studies have looked at what an occasional glass of wine does to a fetus. One surprising study, published in the "Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health" in October 2010, found that children born to women who drank one to two drinks per week during pregnancy did not show any behavioral or cognitive problems at age 5. In fact, the children in the study who were born to light drinkers had better test scores on some measures of cognitive abilities and less hyperactivity than kids born to abstainers.
Considerations
Even if you do choose to have a glass of wine, with your doctor's approval, while pregnant, this doesn't give you a license to drink the whole bottle. Women who have a hard time controlling their alcohol consumption might need to join an alcohol abuse rehabilitation program to help them stop drinking. Not drinking alcohol during a pregnancy ensures that your developing baby will be protected from FAS, so abstaining is always a safe choice. However, if you happened to have a few drinks before learning about your pregnancy, the likelihood of problems is low, so there's no need to panic.
References
- BabyCenter: Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy
- What to Expect; Wine During Pregnancy; When Is It Okay?; Heidi Murkoff
- "Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health" ; Light Drinking During Pregnancy: Still No Increased Risk for Socioemotional Difficulties or Cognitive Deficits at 5 Years of Age?; Y. J. Kelley, et al.; October 2010
- MedlinePlus; Alcohol and Pregnancy; March 2010
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