Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy: Is It Safe? What Are the Effects?

A recent CDC study found that about one in eight pregnant women in the U.S. report drinking at least one alcoholic beverage in the past month. If you drink alcohol during pregnancy, some alcohol will pass through the placenta to your baby. Drinking during pregnancy can cause your baby to develop a serious life-long condition called fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Some women felt that the CDC was being condescending and interfering in their right to make decisions about how they live their lives. The CDC reports that there was no change in the number of pregnant patients who report drinking from 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 2020 alcoholism treatment (the first year of pandemic). In both years, approximately 14-15% of pregnant women reported consuming alcohol and 6% reported binge drinking.

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• However, the mother–child dyads treated in this study at the CHUV-Addivie addiction clinic were protected whenever possible, and about 70% of the mothers treated at this addiction clinic returned home with their infants.
• More studies with large sample sizes are needed to disentangle the importance of these conditions.
• These are areas that are vital for success not just in school, but in life.

However, this reflects the real-world substance use patterns, where polysubstance use is highly prevalent. Indeed, cannabis is often used with other substances, including cocaine and opioids, and excluding those using cannabis from the exposed group may decrease the ecological validity of our study. Additionally, although all the women were treated for their current or past addiction at CHUV maternity hospital, the specific details of the treatment provided to the women in our study cohort were not available. Third, while analyzing the association between prenatal exposure to cocaine and/or opioids and adverse obstetrical and neonatal composite outcomes using IPTW, the overall balance of individual covariates improved greatly. Fourth, despite only a few individuals reporting to have used alcohol (13 in the exposed and 8 in the reference group) in our study, the model was still adjusted for alcohol use.

Your doctor can refer you to a therapist or program that may be able to help. The sooner you get help, the better life will be for you and your baby. In November 2015, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a report that focused on recognizing, diagnosing, and treating FASD.

Possible side effects of drinking at 3 to 4 weeks pregnant

Many will say, “If there is any risk, I will follow the guidelines and not drink at all.” Others may examine the risks and choose to have an occasional drink. The CDC caused controversy in February 2016 when it published a report intended to raise awareness of the risk of FASD due to drinking before a woman realizes she is pregnant. The report recommended that women who are sexually active and want to get pregnant should avoid alcohol, and women who are sexually active and don’t want to get pregnant should use an effective birth control method. The report noted that half of pregnancies are unplanned, and even for women trying to conceive, most won’t know they’re pregnant until four to six weeks into the pregnancy. Almost all national health organizations recommend complete abstinence when it comes to drinking during pregnancy, while some obstetricians – including myself – say it’s OK to have a drink now and then. Alcohol can cause problems for the baby throughout pregnancy, including before a woman knows she is pregnant.

Study design

• The authors noted, however, that it’s possible that developmental problems linked to maternal drinking could emerge later in childhood.
• The authors of the study concluded that more large-scale studies are needed to investigate the effects of low and moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy – and that for now it’s best for pregnant women to avoid alcohol.
• While the medical evidence supporting strict abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy is not very strong, it is still generally advised that pregnant people avoid drinking any amount of beer, or any alcohol, while pregnant.

Pregnant women frequently experience mood and anxiety disorders, which when left untreated, results in psychiatric episodes, relapse, poor nutrition intake, substance use, and adverse neonatal outcomes 69,70,71. Thus, it is important for future research to focus on the potential additive effect of psychoactive drugs when taken concomitantly with other drugs like cocaine and opioids during pregnancy. It also limited us from disentangling the effect of the psychoactive medications and prenatal cocaine and/or opioid exposure when used concurrently, on preterm birth and other adverse neonatal outcomes.

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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a group of disabilities caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Alcohol can affect a baby’s development at any stage, even before a woman knows she is pregnant. Binge drinking and heavy drinking during pregnancy put a developing baby at the greatest risk for severe problems. The baseline maternal characteristics have been summarized and displayed in Table 1. In our study group, women in the exposed group were comparatively older (31.6 years vs 26.9 years). Most of the pregnant women in the exposed group had a history of drug use or medical care for addiction treatment or opioid agonist therapy prior to pregnancy (83.8% vs 41.2%).

What if I drank before I realized I was pregnant?

• During the pandemic, people in the U.S. purchased markedly higher amounts of alcohol.
• Your doctor can refer you to a therapist or program that may be able to help.
• According to Dr. Rajagopalan, studies show that drinking large quantities of alcohol while pregnant does affect a baby’s health.
• Two studies from 2021 support the idea that alcohol consumption during pregnancy isn’t a good idea – both for the overall outcome of the pregnancy and for fetal neurodevelopment.
• In addition to alcohol, other factors can contribute to high blood pressure during pregnancy.

Pregnant women face differing opinions among friends and family, online forums, and even health care providers. Alcohol is an identified teratogen because it is readily passed from the mother to the child if the mother drinks alcohol when she is pregnant. Although there are numerous conflicting reports regarding when a pregnant woman can or cannot use alcohol, the CDC recommends that pregnant women do not drink alcohol at all.

Individual adverse obstetrical and neonatal composite outcomes

Additionally, a 2019 review found that for pregnant people who drank five https://ecosoberhouse.com/ or fewer alcoholic drinks a week, each additional drink per week increased their risk of miscarriage by 6%. Drinking during pregnancy also increases the risk of stillbirth, when a baby dies before or after delivery after 20 weeks of gestation. The effects of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder can persist throughout life.

Learn about fetal and neonatal care offered at CHLA.

Other doctors feel that pregnant women shouldn’t worry about having a small drink every once in a while. Many doctors agree with the stance of the CDC and Surgeon General and recommend that their pregnant patients avoid drinking. It’s also difficult to predict the impact of drinking on any given pregnancy because some women have higher levels of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol. The information here aims to help you better understand your health and your options for treatment and care. Your healthcare team is there to support you in making decisions that are right for you. They can help by discussing your situation with you and answering your questions.