How Much Is Too Much? Alcohol, Pregnancy & Fetal Death

With less than 8 days left of my holiday, I’d like to express my gratitude to all of my followers who have stuck with me during this rather lengthy hiatus! As you’ll soon see - rest is not idleness! Even while on vacation I’ve managed to come across a range of topics that I intend to share with you (fully referenced of course) when I return! However, one of the issues just couldn’t wait! While I support the woman’s right to ‘choice’ when it comes to pregnancy, I strongly feel that once the choice is made to carry a child, the mother-to-be has a duty of care to her unborn child! This includes abstaining from alcohol, smoking and drugs, as well as nourishing the fetus with a healthy diet!

While we all know that substance abuse is bad for us, a recent study from the University of Copenhagen has published some interesting results quantifying how bad even ‘moderate’ alcohol consumption can be for one’s unborn child.

According to their research, women who reported 2-3½ drinks per week increased the chance of fetal death in the first trimester by 66%. This statistic was raised to a whopping 182% for women who consumed 4 or more drinks per week! According to them, 55% of their participants abstained from alcohol during pregnancy. However, to me, even this statistic is disappointing.

One only needs to consider that alcohol consumption on a moderate scale puts the body in a state of alarm so high that it believes abortion is preferable to birth, to understand the potential implications of alcohol abuse on surviving infants.

While scientists debate the question of ‘how much is too much’, I believe that when it comes to our children; our future, this is one time that where it is appropriate to take an extreme stance and suggest that total abstinence may indeed be the best policy!

Reference:
Andersen, A.M., Andersen, P.K., Olsen, J., Gronbaek, M., & Strandberg-Larsen, K. (2012). Moderate alcohol intake during pregnancy and risk of fetal death. Int. J. Epidemiol, 41(2): 405-413. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyr189