Alcohol Rehab Centers States: No Drinking During Pregnancy
It is common knowledge that drinking alcohol excessively while pregnant is bad for your baby and is likely to lead to Alcohol Fetal Syndrome. However, there has been little consensus surrounding the consumption of one drink every now and then while pregnant. Some studies have suggested that such light drinking, when done infrequently, is unlikely to have any negative effects on the baby. This proposition has been firmly rejected by the recent studies released conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Alcohol and Pregnancy Research
The group wrote that “no amount of alcohol should be considered safe to drink during any trimester of pregnancy.” These recent studies were undertaken by the University of Washington’s Fetal Alcohol Syndrome program. The UW doctors have been at the forefront of this area of medicine since Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was first discovered in 1973 at the UW Medical Center. The studies further reported that drinking during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of both birth defects and future cognitive problems in the child’s life.
Some previous studies, that have concluded that it is safe to drink alcohol depending on the trimester, have been disproved by the fact that a baby’s brain cells are constantly developing throughout the entire pregnancy period. It has been shown that the risk of the baby suffering from developmental issues is increased by 12% if the mother drinks during the first trimester and by 61% during the second trimester. This risk is increased by a factor of 65 if the mother drinks during the entire pregnancy period.
Drinking During Pregnancy
The problem with drinking during pregnancy is that no two mothers are the same. The impact of alcohol is dependant on, among other things, the enzyme levels of the mother. The higher a mother’s enzyme levels, the quicker her body is able to break down alcohol and the less chance there is of putting the baby at risk. The type and amount of alcohol as well as the stage of pregnancy are also factors likely to affect the risk on the baby, but these factors are largely unknown. Furthermore, no two fetuses are equally vulnerable to the effects of alcohol. Since we do not know which factors affect this vulnerability, it is safer to just abstain from alcohol completely.
If you drink alcohol during your pregnancy you are putting your baby at risk of a multitude of problems including trouble with hearing and vision and problems affecting the heart, bones, and kidneys. These are in addition to neurodevelopment issues which impact negatively on the child’s abstract reasoning, information processing, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
No Alcohol is The Safest Choice
The research team, therefore, concluded that “the only safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy is none at all.” Giving up alcohol for the duration of your pregnancy is but a small sacrifice to make in the larger scale of things. Risking your baby’s health will never be worth that glass of wine at the family reunion. If you need more convincing, think of it this way: you certainly wouldn’t give your toddler a glass of wine so why would you drink a glass while you’re pregnant?
For more information regarding drinking and pregnancy or about seeking help to stop consuming alcohol during this precious time, contact the professionals at Beachside Rehab right away.