Reported
January 15, 2003
Drinking During Pregnancy
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Although many women
know the risk of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, a new
study shows 15 percent of women have consumed alcohol at least
once during a pregnancy.
Researchers from the University of Michigan surveyed 1,131
pregnant women 18 to 46 years old as they waited for their
prenatal appointments. Women were asked about a range of health
and lifestyle issues, including exercise, tobacco use, and
alcohol use. The survey included both direct questions about
drinking during pregnancy and indirect questions about drinking
habits. Women who reported any alcohol use were divided into
low- and high-risk groups.
Researchers found 86 percent of the women fell into the
low-risk group, consuming less than one drink per week and
reporting no binges of five drinks or more at a time. The
remainder of the women drank one drink or more per week or
reported having had one or more drinking binges during their
pregnancy. Researchers say binge drinking was uncommon, but 7
percent of the women using alcohol reported one or more binge
drinking episodes during pregnancy.
The study shows drinking was not associated with marital
status, race or education. However, it was associated with age,
smoking and earlier stages of pregnancy. Women in the high-risk
drinking group smoked twice as many cigarettes per day as women
in the low-risk group, and three times as many cigarettes a day
as those who didn't drink at all. Women in the earlier stages of
pregnancy were also more likely to drink.
Researchers say just over half of the women said their health
care provider had talked with them about the dangers of drinking
while pregnant. Heather Flynn, Ph.D., from the University of
Michigan, says: "We may be able to identify, through quick
screening, the women who may be at highest risk for harmful
outcomes for themselves and their infants, and stop those
potentially risky behaviors. First, we need to better understand
the relationships between drinking, tobacco use, and other
mental health issues in pregnancy."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical
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SOURCE: Alcoholism; Clinical and Experimental Research,
2002;27:81-87
