Apparently, it is okay to have one small glass of wine a week while you are pregnant. According to a study released by BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, low levels of alcohol consumption are not linked to behavioral or cognitive problems during early to mid-childhood.
Is this study really telling us anything we couldn't have figured out on our own? I mean, I didn't drink at all while I was pregnant because I happen to be a total rule follower and nerd, but haven't pregnant women in Europe indulged in the occasional glass of wine while pregnant and given birth to perfectly healthy children with no problems? Didn't I see a movie where Catherine Zeta Jones was pregnant and having a glass of wine and saying it was okay because she is European. Was that Traffic?
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Previous studies have shown the link between heavy drinking during pregnancy and health and developmental problems in children. The authors of this study were interested in finding out the effects of low-level drinking.
The governments advice to women who are trying to get pregnant or are pregnant is to abstain from alcohol all together. This study says you can drink a tiny bit while pregnant and not be worried about ill effects, but don't go drinking heavily because that is no good at all.
This brings to mind a conversation I had with my husband. I used to work as a bartender and I told him that if a visibly pregnant woman were to order a drink from me, I would feel uncomfortable serving it to her. My husband felt that it wasn't my place to judge, nor my responsibility to keep the woman from drinking. I agree with him, but I still felt it would put me in a moral dilemma because how the heck do I know if the woman is a light drinker or someone who is drinking so much it could hurt her baby? I wouldn't want to have anything to do with harming a child.
I guess what I'm saying is that if you are pregnant and want to have one small glass of wine a week, that's your choice, but please don't make me pour it for you.
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