A new study released yesterday looks at the effects of drinking alcohol in pregnancy drawing on data from 11,000 children born in the UK between 2000 and 2002.
Several contradictory studies have been published over the last few years and the advice to women has ranged from not drinking at all to having a few drinks with no consistency.
The results of the study suggest that women can have at least one glass of wine per week without harming their foetuses, and that, in fact, children who had mothers who drank a little every now and then have fewer social problems and scored higher on cognitive tests.
Children who had mothers who drank heavily during pregnancy did poorly on cognitive tests and were hyperactive.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Wrong.
1) The study is retrospective which means that they asked women what they drank during pregnancy well after the time that they were pregnant.
2) W0men who are affluent and highly educated tend to drink less during pregnancy anyway so babies are inclined to fare better on cognitive tests based on the socio-economic status of their mothers external to any influence on their development via drinking.
So, the jury is still out on drinking. Do you think avoiding alcohol is the best solution?
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2 comments:
I would totally steer clear of any alcohol during my pregnancy. Why take the chance, when the information about how much alcohol causes problems is so inconclusive? I work with kids with ARND and FASD presentation almost on a daily basis, and it's so tough for everyone involved. The ONLY way to 100% prevent FASD is to not drink a drop.
I didn't drink, but I'm sure slowly drinking a glass once in a while won't harm anyone.
That research sounds weird. Of course moms that drink have fewer social problems. Social moms may drink more, and genetically their kids will be more social.
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