For years, American doctors have recommended that pregnant women abstain from drinking any amount of alcohol. This has always been a precautionary measure as it is unknown exactly how much a woman must drink before it adversely affects her baby. According to a study sited on OUPblog, in other countries like Great Britain, low-level consumption is considered acceptable and in places like Australia, the recommendation has flip-flopped between abstinence and low-level for years. Even some doctors in the U.S. have been known to okay low to moderate consumption after the first trimester.
But is this inconsistency causing women to be more laid back with how much they're comfortable drinking?
The aforementioned study, which was conducted by Sarah CM Roberts and Lyndsay Ammon Avalos, mentions that some women seeking to terminate pregnancies do name alcohol as a reason, but that there is no evidence supporting the idea that the abstinence recommendation leads to the termination of otherwise wanted pregnancies. However, some are concerned that okaying low-level consumption would result in more women drinking at all.
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At the same time, it has been determined that women who drink heavily are likely to drop their level of consumption rather than terminating a pregnancy. So the real issue at hand is determining what stance the medical community should take and what the intended effect of that stance should be. Will there ever be consensus? Even the professionals don't know the answer to that question. And unless they can discover exactly how much alcohol it takes to have a negative effect on a developing fetus, I'm fairly certain this debate will not die down.
I'll be honest–and I may get flamed for this–but I fall into the camp of people who don't think a sip of beer or wine here and there is an issue. From about halfway through my pregnancy on, I felt pretty comfortable having a taste of my husband's drink. I never drank any hard liquor while I was pregnant, but knowing that some doctors will even recommend that pregnant women drink a couple of small glasses of wine a week to help them destress, was enough to assuage any fears I had. Obviously, I never once had more than a couple of sips at a time, but if it means anything at all, my son is perfect.
The takeaway here is that women are really left to use their own discretion and for most, I think that's a positive thing.
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