Study O.K.'s Light Drinking During Pregnancy. Too Good to Be True?

[HuckleB]

Source: Time/CNN

A glass of wine or two a week — and not more than one large glass on any occasion — may be safe during pregnancy, according to a large study just published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The British research found no negative effects of such light drinking on 5-year-olds whose mothers had imbibed while pregnant with them. Indeed, these kindergartners were slightly less likely to have behavioral problems and performed somewhat better on cognitive tests than children whose mothers had abstained. (More on Time.com: 5 Pregnancy Taboos Explained (or Debunked))

But this does *not* mean that light drinking in pregnancy is good for your baby. When researchers controlled for factors like maternal education and income, which tend to be higher in light drinkers, it significantly reduced the positive effects associated with alcohol. For example, before adjusting for these kinds of differences between the groups, the researchers found that light drinking was connected with 33% lower rates of overall behavior problems in boys — after the adjustment, that effect fell to 23%.

The study did find negative effects in children whose mothers drank moderately: this was defined as not having more than 3 to 6 British units of alcohol per week or more than 3 to 5 units on a single occasion. (One British unit of alcohol equals a small glass of wine.) Heavier drinking in pregnancy, not surprisingly, resulted in increased levels of behavior problems and lowered cognitive performance among children.

The research included 11,513 children participating in a large U.K. study. The authors had earlier published similar results looking at the data for children in the study when they were 3, finding those whose mothers who didn't drink had slightly more behavior problems and slightly poorer performance on mental tests than kids born to light drinkers; the results also showed increasingly negative effects of alcohol going from moderate to heavy drinking. Other research has repeatedly shown that heavy, binging patterns of consumption are most dangerous to the developing child.




Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2023984,00.html

---

I would certainly like to see this study repeated a few times before anyone makes definitive recommendations. But, it is interesting. Well, maybe it is, anyway. I do know several women, including my wife, who've been given the green light to have a glass of wine now and then once they're more than half way through the pregnancy. I'm not sure what evidence those docs used (or didn't use) to give them a green light, but it was given.

[karnac]

1. anything in excess, *IS* excess

don't get me wrong. i don't want to make a law. can you say the same?


too many of these studies provide an excuse to allow the inexcusable to continue their actions?


did we pay for it?


if it isn't it is merely darwinism at work and we should allow it.

and the majority will be better for it.

[Broderick]

3. enabling

some folks have a problem and when they read things like this, there is that chance to make a poor decision. There are some that have a problem with consumption and when they start they can't stop, justify it, ect. Science is science of course, I know, but sometimes it can create problems.

[HuckleB]

4. The study was done in Britain.

It doesn't appear that anyone is telling mothers that they should drink during pregnancy.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/203691.php

"...

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said they were not updating their guideline issued in 2007 that says pregnant women should avoid alcohol altogether, as should women trying to get pregnant. This replaced previous advice that it was ok for women to drink one or two units a week.

She emphasized that the update was to give women a consistent message and not based on any research. However, even after this latest study, it appears the government is going to stick to the simple message, that women should not drink while pregnant or while trying to conceive.

"After assessing the available evidence, we cannot say with confidence that drinking during pregnancy is safe and will not harm your baby," she said, in a statement reported by the Press Association.

The current advice from NICE, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, is that women should avoid alcohol in pregnancy, particularly during the first trimester.

..."

[jobycom]

2. Big Deal. Medieval peasant women drank beer and ale every day while pregnant.

And look at what all they accomplished. Literacy for 1% of the population. Witch trials. Demon sightings. Medical treatments such as drilling holes in the skull to release demons to treat headaches. Columbus. And some great advances in bludgeoning type weapons. Now I ask you, can a culture that produced all that have been suffering from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?

[karnac]

7. in the middle of the 1800's things changed......

coffee and tea became the norm. science flourished. age expectancy rose dramatically

remember of course, the powers and employers that be at the time decided that having a workforce that is not necessarily drunk and compliant was the way to go. torn limbs and bad publicity is not good. more PROFITS yes! woo yahhhh!

of course more troubles, more unions demanding rights for the worker.....

yes. keep the workforce drunk that's the ticket!!

btw, where is my doobie? until its not mine for free, NONE of US are FREE!!!

acapulco gold forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bread_and_roses]

15. you would rather they had drunk dirty water and died from water-borne disease?

Sanitation was not so great in Medieval times - and it wasn't just "peasant women" who drank vast quantities of beer - though the rich probably also drunk wine. It was not peasant women, anyway, who conducted/invented any of your examples above. That was the provence of the Clergy, the rich, and those who would eventually become the "middle-class".

[jobycom]

19. Never implied otherwise.

Of course it was healthier to drink the beer. Or chew the beer, really... it wasn't exactly un-chunky back then. And I never said only the women drank the beer. And obviously, Alcohol Fetal Syndrome affects the baby, not the mother, so all those inventions and cultural and political realities were created by people who had once been fetuses inside a drunk mother chewing her ale alongside her grubby hubbie.

Ah, to live in those days... The romance, the castles, the human waste floating in your bathing river... Odds were I'd be dead by now, but at least I could have burned a few witches before I died. Christine O'Donnell would be in a lot more trouble than she is now back then. :rofl:

[cbdo2007]

30. Ha - don't forget the mortality rate of newborns back then must have been huge.

Even 100 years ago, go into any cemetary and it seems like 10% of the population died before they were a year old. I know that's not probably the real number but it was MUCH more common back then.

[CTyankee]

34. In medieval days, you couldn't drink the water in the cities because it was so polluted.

So wine was preferred.

Not so fast tho on the accomplishments of that era. The Renaissance in art, architecture, science and literary output was stupendous.

[jobycom]

35. Some of that is as much (if not more) myth as fact, even though even historians repeat it.

I think I even repeated it in this thread. :) Not that I was ever a full-blown historian, just a grad student of history. :(

People didn't drink from rivers, they drank from wells. Cities were more of a problem than rural areas, and a traveler generally didn't drink water because you generally try not to drink bacterial cultures different from the one you're used to, but there was fresh water to drink. Some places even had indoor plumbing and running water, even back in the eleventh and twelfth century--the monastery of Cluny, for instance.

Even so, they drank wine in the cities because it generally improved health. It did kill off bacteria that popped up in food from time to time. And of course a city was more likely to have travelers who weren't used to the water. And of course, wine is more fun than water. Ale and beer were the same, except of course they were made from the water.

And of course, the Renaissance isn't medieval--it's generally marked as the end of the Middle Ages, as Europe began to emerge from the Hell of the Fourteenth Century, with its constant wars and the Plague.

There was the whole "12th Century Renaissance" era, but that was largely stolen from Islamic Spain and Italy. There was more art, thought, and culture at most points in the Middle Ages than medieval culture was given credit for. That's largely because the name and the whole definition of the "Middle Ages," or as it was sometimes called, the "Dark Ages," came from the Renaissance, as people looked back at the last hundred years of Hell and decided the entire period between the fall of Rome and the emergence of the Renaissance must have been just like the Fourteenth Century.

[CTyankee]

36. I am very interested in the 14th century now, but more from an art perspective...or

actually how social issues influenced the art that was produced by the Gothic era(s) leading up to the Early Renaissance. I have just ordered Miess's landmark book on painting in Florence and Siena after the Black Death. There was actually a bit of a revolt against the new humanistic style of Giotto after the Black Death (survivors blamed the plague on God's displeasure with it) and commissioned Orcagna's incredible Tabernacle, which you can still see in the Orsanmichele Church in Florence. It was viewed by later art historians as "illogical" and "incoherent," probably because it did not have the characteristics of Early Renaissance art...interesting time...also interesting that art history, just like most history, is what the historians say it is (often)...you can Google that tabernacle to see what I'm talking about!

[jobycom]

40. Ooo, pretty! Now that's a cool church.

Just read a little on it. It's a converted market, which itself is interesting, seeing how a common structure gets adorned to become sacred. You can really see the Islamic influence in Italian art in the arches and in the ornate decorations of the tabernacle, although by then that influence was probably so common that it was no longer Islamic.

Most of what I studied was earlier, ending around the twelfth and thirteenth century as Spain began to fall to the Christians, but I was interested in how art and culture intertwined, too. Sometimes looking at a cathedral or a painting you can see not just details of how people lived, but also how they were being influenced. For instance, you can track the history of the Gothic arch north along the pilgrimage routes from Spain, noting the earliest beginnings of a pointed arch begin in the south, and the more developed arches begin popping up a little later farther north along the routes, which to me proves they were influenced heavily by Islamic architecture, either by people who lived further south along the routes venturing into Al-Andulus, or by artisans from Al-Andulus slowly moving north. Either way, it shows there was a lot more social interaction than used to be believed. I read books even dating from the eighties which claimed that there was an "Iron Curtain" between Islam and Christianity, so there was practically no cross-cultural influence. They used the lack of written documents and of artifacts to hold that argument. But you can clearly see in artwork, in surviving Troubadour poetry, in architecture, even in the eleventh and twelfth century fascination with logic in theology, that the two cultures definitely interacted at all levels, even if no one was describing that interaction. Abelard named his son "Astrolabe," for instance. And Pope Sylvester II, the former Gerbert of Aurillac, was reportedly so good with numbers that some accused him of wizardry--that skill had to come from his time in Christian Spain where he learned Arab math.

Oh, um, what were talking about? Wine!! Oh yeah. He drank wine, too, I'm sure. :)

[CTyankee]

42. Yeah, that market was a real hallmark of the Florentine republic.

The old grain chute is still there! I saw it a couple of weeks ago on an art intensive in Florence. And the Tabernacle! amazing...

You know, that stripey architural thing that was common in the Early Renaissance was also Islamic. Quite beautiful.

Thank you for your post. It is quite enlightening to me and most welcome!

[mrs_p]

5. i honestly don't miss it

(most of the time). maybe b/c i'm sick most of the time anyway. alcohol, soda, juice just don't sound good on the tummy. coffee, on the other hand, has been really, really hard to give up, and i allow myself a coffee every other day...

[HuckleB]

8. I can't give up coffee for more than a day, myself, even if I can't be pregnant.

I've never been a soda fan, but I do drink now and then. Still, I can give up alcohol for a long time, but not coffee. I know my wife definitely missed the coffee when she was pregnant, however. She has more than made up for it in the last couple years since she stopped breastfeeding, however.

[laundry_queen]

9. Yeah, for me it wasn't even an issue.

The thought or smell of alcohol made me want to puke. I only drank once when pregnant - when I was 2 weeks overdue with my third and trying to get labor going (I freaking tried everything possible) - I had a half a glass of wine. It was gross. My mom remembers having a beer here and there when she was pregnant, back then it was OK. I personally just can't see taking that chance, because I don't care for alcohol much anyway. But I don't see the harm in others having a drink to celebrate something once in awhile, if they dont' feel it's a risk.

[Dappleganger]

14. I drank one cup (black) a day

throughout my pregnancies but completely gave up any soda, most sugar, alcohol, etc. Like you, there was a problem w/nausea (and mine lasted 5-6 months) so chicken/rice/baked potatoes were my best friends. When my husband cooked any meats I would have to sit outside because the smells were so sickening.

[ejpoeta]

6. wasn't willing to take the chance. not even drinking during breastfeeding

at all. not even when going out and i could dump it.

[mitchum]

10. And drink heavily during pregnancy if you want to produce the 43rd president of the US

GWB=FAS

[Better Today]

18. +1 ROFL

[ProudDad]

11. Anyone who can't quit for 9 months

just to be on the safe side...

Probably can't stop at one drink anyway... :shrug:

---------------------------------------------

On Edit: This is not meant to be a "judgemental" post. It's just a precautionary point of view of someone who's been in recovery and helped others in recovery over that last 11+ years...

[HuckleB]

12. That hasn't been true, in my experience.

I know several mothers who had a glass or a 1/2 glass of wine at a special occasion or two, once they were in the second half of their pregnancy.

[emilyg]

13. I was in my 6th month

and had wine at wedding I attended. Did not hurt anything.

[HuckleB]

20. We traveled to Vienna and Prague when my wife was about six months.

Her doc knew this, and told her to enjoy a glass or two of wine at dinner during the trip. She did, and she had a couple sips of Czech Lager, too. I'd say the most dangerous thing was walking on cobblestones at that point in the pregnancy.

[Book Lover]

22. But the point is science is saying there is no need to completely abstain

in order to ensure your fetus is unaffected by your drinking during pregnancy. The safe zone includes light, limited consumption. You are approaching the act of drinking as an inherent pathology (you've been in recovery), but most pregnant women do not have to. Your post is judgmental, despite your intention.

[ProudDad]

29. My post is not judgemental!

it was meant to be precautionary...that was my INTENT!

Please don't pretend that you know better what my intent was...and just because YOU believe it's "judgmental" doesn't make it so...

--------------------------------

It's articles like this that can enable those who CAN'T have just a 1/2 glass to justify "moderate drinking"...

That's ALL I'm saying...

SOMEONE had to mention it; so I did.

--------------------------------

I hope your typical "normie" response, with the inaccurate and unhelpful judgmental leap to the erroneous conclusion that I consider drinking an "inherent pathology" (which neither I nor anyone who knows anything about substance abuse would consider an accurate or useful "label") just because I'm IN RECOVERY is helping me make my point...

Those who know what I'm talking about know what I'm talking about...

[Book Lover]

33. As a woman who drank while pregnant, I disagree with your assertion

While I must agree that it is impossible for me to factually know what your *intent* was in positing, please do not tell me that, as the target for your comments, you weren't passing judgement on how I chose to conduct myself during my pregnancy. Why must I, as a person without a substance problem, be pressured socially by you and your ilk to not drink *at all* during pregnancy because facts based on scientific observation can be used by the women who *do* have a problem to self-justify their behavior? Why can't this conversation be nuanced?

[nodehopper]

37. and anyone who doesn't have a "problem" with alcohol

probably doesn't think about it in terms of "quitting." I drink minimally/socially, maybe a couple of glasses of wine or beer per month, and after doing diligent research did not see any evidence that avoiding this minimal consumption would be safer than having the drinks during my pregnancy. Amazingly counter to your assumption, I generally don't want to have more than one drink at a time ever, period.

[marybourg]

16. Common sense. nt.

[marias23]

17. Moms to Be: PLEASE DO NOT DRINK

Do not take a chance. If you can't control your drinking for nine months - don't have kids. Good nutritional advice (and warnings) in a booklet called "As You Eat, So Your Baby Grows." healthyhighways.com

[MineralMan]

21. Thank you. It's good to hear from a medical professional

like yourself.

[nodehopper]

38. what chance?

American paranoia about "one beer will give your baby FAS" is rooted more in litigious culture that does not permit research/public statements defining a "safe minimum." that does not mean that a "safe minimum" does not exist. EXISTING research about FAS, while not offering an EXACT POINT of a "safe minimum" nevertheless points to the range well below that point. Certainly countries where light/social drinking during pregnancy is socially acceptable and okayed by doctors (England, France) do not have any higher rates of FAS than the US does.

[nodehopper]

39. also if you feel so strongly about it,

then please feel free to based your decision-making about your childbearing based on your alcohol intake. "If you can't control your drinking for nine months - don't have kids" is a totalizing way of framing the question through your own bias. I can control my drinking for as long as I want--I just don't see the need to avoid minimal social alcohol intake not because I am willing to "take that chance" but because it is my conclusion based on available evidence that there IS no risk from having an occasional beer every few weeks, or a glass of wine during a special occasion.

[bread_and_roses]

23. The absolute prohibition against alcohol in pregnancy is a relatively recent, and probably temporary

phenomenon. Talk to women who gave birth in the 50's or 60's - many will tell you that their Drs advised them to have a drink to stay "relaxed" - and many did, daily. When a friend and I were both pregnant in the 80's we were laughing at the aghast looks we'd get if we had a single glass of wine with a meal in a restaurant - something we both did. Her mother had had 1-2 martinis every single night of her pregnancy with her brother. I clearly remembered pregnant women drinking beer at parties and picnics during my childhood (she came from a middle, I from a working class background). They did not have babies with FAS. Nor did my friend, nor did I, despite our occasional glasses of wine - even (gasp!) in the first three months.

I also worked with high-risk mothers at one point in my career, including one very heavy drinker who was an alcoholic and did not stop drinking - though she swore she "cut back" during her pregnancy. Her infant did not have FAS.

It left me wondering if the absolute prohibition that became the norm arose because we are not sure what level/type of drinking led to an infant being born with FAS? This was all 25+ years ago, and I've not kept up with the research. But I remember a story about a mother who had to fight Child Protective because she went into labor - full term - after having a beer. If my memory serves, it was a hot summer day and the baby was perfectly fine. Again, if my memory is correct, and I think it is because my reaction at the time was "this is hysteria/witch-hunting." (I believe the mother was also black and poor - which never helps in these situations.)

[HuckleB]

28. That's a very good point, or a collection of good points.

:hi:

[Gormy Cuss]

41. I think you're right about the timing of the absolute prohibition and the reason.

IIRC the absolute prohibition was for the first trimester --- I remember many of my friends panicking because they had had some drinks before they knew they were pregnant. I also had several friends who were told that an occasional glass of wine late in the pregnancy wasn't a problem (a single glass no more than once a week)but that was 20-30 years ago.

[maxsolomon]

24. "no alcohol whatsoever" was a typical american overreaction

how many of us over 40 are the children of mothers who smoked cigarettes and drank moderately during pregnancy? one hell of a lot.

if you are an alcoholic woman, and you get pregnant, there is a chance you'll have a baby with FAS - but maybe not, also. if you are a normal woman who can stop at 1 glass of wine, the odds that you'll bear a child with FAS are miniscule, but, of course, not zero.

hence the absolute ban on pregnant women drinking moderately in america - all risk must be eliminated, or the risk is 100%. binary oppositions are all that exist. black or white. on or off. good or evil. grey areas, reasonable risk, and moderation are disallowed.

either you remove all diving boards from pools, or all children will break their necks. either you hand-deliver your child to every play date, or they will be abducted walking to their friend's house. either everyone in a vehicle wears a seatbelt all the time, or everyone will wreck and go through their windshields. either children have no alcohol before their 21st birthday, or they binge drink and die of alcohol poisoning. if you drink too much, you must quit completely and never drink again. either we invade iraq, or they will attack us with a nuclear bomb. etc.

a country where no one can be allowed to exercise self-discipline. a nation where kids raised in DARE programs see their mom smoke a cigarette and think they're going to drop dead immediately.

[Book Lover]

25. This (nm)

[enlightenment]

26. Thank you.

We've gotten to the point where common sense has become a dirty word.

[HuckleB]

27. You're probably right.

[joeglow3]

31. I LOVE it when people use your type of flawed reasoning

"how many of us over 40 are the children of mothers who smoked cigarettes and drank moderately during pregnancy? one hell of a lot."

-And, exactly how many of those who died are included in that number of those currently over 40?

Using your logic, I can get a bunch of war veterans togther, ask them "how many of you went to war and are alive" and then assume since all of them did, war is very safe.

[maxsolomon]

32. do you really LOVE it?

what are you on about? who died? from FAS? did you read my post beyond that point?

i wasn't about saying there is no risk from alcohol use during pregnancy (if that's what you consider flawed reasoning), but rather supported the OP with my opinion that the danger has been grossly overstated to the point of hysteria, and that this is indicative of america's absolutist, fear-based decision making.