ATLANTA–Women are still drinking while pregnant despite repeated warnings by the U.S. Surgeon General that drinking causes birth defects. According to a new study, “Alcohol Use Among Women of Childbearing Age, United States, 1991-2005,” released by the Centers for Disease Control(CDC) and Prevention on May 21, approximately one in eight women drink alcohol while pregnant. Additionally, one of every 50 pregnant women engaged in binge drinking.
“Exposure to alcohol can cause lifelong physical and mental disabilities that are preventable by avoiding alcoholic drinks while pregnant,” said Edwin Trevathan, director of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities in a news release. “All women should know that there is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink or safe time to drink it during pregnancy.”
Health care professionals screen pregnant patients for drinking and advise against it in efforts to reduce the rates of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome(FAS). However, CDC studies show that FAS rates still range from 0.2 to 1.5 per 1,000 births. The worst consequences of chronic drinking while pregnant are FAS and death.
FAS results in multiple physical and mental disabilities ranging from abnormal facial features, growth deficiencies and problems with learning, memory, attention span, vision, hearing and communication.
“These problems often lead to difficulties in school and problems getting along with others. FAS is a permanent condition. It affects every aspect of an individual’s life and the lives of his or her family,” according to the CDC website.
Similar birth defects that are not full-blown FAS births that are associated with mothers drinking while pregnant include learning and behavioral problems, poor coordination, hyperactivity, developmental disabilities, low IQ, problems with reasoning and judgment and skills needed for daily living. The CDC concludes that this category of disabilities occurs approximately three times as often as FAS.
The new CDC’s study also revealed that pregnant women who are employed and unmarried are more likely to binge drink. However, the causal relationship was not explored.
Data for the study was collected monthly across the nation for 15 years. The study findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The researchers defined any alcohol as at least one drink of any alcoholic beverage in the past 30 days. Binge drinking referred to having five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 30 days.
Denny and associates analyzed data from 533,506 women, ages 18-44 years, of whom 22,027 reported being pregnant at the time of the interview.
“Exposure to alcohol can cause lifelong physical and mental disabilities that are preventable by avoiding alcoholic drinks while pregnant,” said Edwin Trevathan, director of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities in a news release. “All women should know that there is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink or safe time to drink it during pregnancy.”
Health care professionals screen pregnant patients for drinking and advise against it in efforts to reduce the rates of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome(FAS). However, CDC studies show that FAS rates still range from 0.2 to 1.5 per 1,000 births. The worst consequences of chronic drinking while pregnant are FAS and death.
FAS results in multiple physical and mental disabilities ranging from abnormal facial features, growth deficiencies and problems with learning, memory, attention span, vision, hearing and communication.
“These problems often lead to difficulties in school and problems getting along with others. FAS is a permanent condition. It affects every aspect of an individual’s life and the lives of his or her family,” according to the CDC website.
Similar birth defects that are not full-blown FAS births that are associated with mothers drinking while pregnant include learning and behavioral problems, poor coordination, hyperactivity, developmental disabilities, low IQ, problems with reasoning and judgment and skills needed for daily living. The CDC concludes that this category of disabilities occurs approximately three times as often as FAS.
The new CDC’s study also revealed that pregnant women who are employed and unmarried are more likely to binge drink. However, the causal relationship was not explored.
Data for the study was collected monthly across the nation for 15 years. The study findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The researchers defined any alcohol as at least one drink of any alcoholic beverage in the past 30 days. Binge drinking referred to having five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 30 days.
Denny and associates analyzed data from 533,506 women, ages 18-44 years, of whom 22,027 reported being pregnant at the time of the interview.
