Alcohol and Pregnancy
Alcohol in pregnancy is one of those contentious areas which can always raise a debate amongst mums-to-be. Whilst many pregnant women wouldn't consider touching a drop, others see it as low risk and choose not to change their lifestyle.
So what are the facts about alcohol and pregnancy and should you stop, limit or continue with your alcohol intake?
So how does the alcohol I drink get to my baby?
When you have an alcoholic drink in pregnancy, that alcohol crosses the placenta and reaches the baby. As the baby's liver is one of the last organs to fully develop in pregnancy the baby cannot process the alcohol as well as we can and so the baby is exposed for longer periods and at higher levels.
What effects does alcohol have on my baby?
Drinking alcohol in pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of miscarriage.
Some children that were exposed to higher levels of alcohol in pregnancy develop a particular group of problems, known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Children with FAS may have restricted growth, facial abnormalities and learning and behavioral disorders.
So what are the recommendations for drinking in pregnancy?
Women often complain that there seems to be conflicting advice on how much is safe to drink. The good news is that now both the Department of Health and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) agree on their recommendations. They both advise that as it is very difficult to set an exact amount of alcohol that would not harm the baby the safest thing is not to drink alcohol during pregnancy.
If women choose that they really do want to continue to drink they should at least avoid alcohol for the first 3 months of pregnancy as there may be an increased risk of miscarriage. During the rest of the pregnancy you should limit alcohol to no more than one unit of alcohol once or twice a week. NICE says that although there is no known safe level of drinking there has been no evidence of harm to babies at this level of alcohol.
How do I get help if I find it hard to stop drinking?
This is not something to shy away from. Getting help now with a drinking problem could be the best thing you have ever done. It could dramatically improve your baby's health and your own. Having parents who drink heavily can also affect children for the rest of their lives.
For other women who maybe don't have such a serious dependency on alcohol it can still be hard to give up something that they associate with fun, relaxing or socialising. If you need help you can talk to your midwife or GP or try Drinkline on 0800 876 67 76.
ASDA is helping Tommy's to give every baby the best chance of being born healthy, aiming to raise £500,000 in 2009 for Tommy's vital research to find out why things go wrong in pregnancy and at birth. To find out more information and how you can help visit www.asda-tommys.co.uk.
For more information on healthy eating during pregnancy simply click on the link and you will be directed to our podcast, or you can visit the podcast section of our website. This contains lots of information about pregnancy and nutrition that may be of interest to you.