Growing Your Baby - Parenthood from Pregnancy to Pre-school » Alcohol and Pregnancy

New Report Finds 1 in 8 women Drink While Pregnant

Lisa — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:29:47 +0000

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report finds that about 1 in 8 U.S. women drank some amount of alcohol during their pregnancy.

A 15-year-study by the CDC has found the number of women who drink alcohol while pregnant is not decreasing and that 1 out of 50 pregnant women engaged in binge drinking.

“The surgeons general have told pregnant women, and women who may become pregnant to abstain from alcohol consumption in order to eliminate the chance of giving birth to a baby with alcohol-related birth defects,” said the report

The study found that pregnant women most likely to report any alcohol use were:

ages 35-44 — 17.7 %
college graduates –14.4 %
employed — 13.7 %
unmarried 13.4 %

Pregnant women who binge drink were more likely to be employed and unmarried, the study said.

The researchers used data from 533,506 women age 18-44, of whom 22,027 reported being pregnant at the time of the interview.

Woman Thrown Out Of Bar For Drinking While Pregnant

Lisa — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:43:46 +0000

A pregnant woman was refused a drink at a pub and then asked to leave by staff who said they were protecting her unborn child.

Caroline Williams, 26, who is five months pregnant, says she felt humiliated by the treatment.

She insists she is a responsible mother and would never endanger her baby even though she drank a pint of beer and was going to have another half.

She said: ‘I was on a rare night out with some friends. I had a pint of lager and a friend offered to get me another half – that was going to be my limit.

‘He was refused service because it was for me and when I later took a sip from another friend’s glass the assistant manageress asked me and my friends to leave.’

Even though I agree with this manager, a spokesman for the Mitchells and Butler chain which owns the pub, apologised and said an investigation had been launched.

He said: ‘We would like to apologise unreservedly to all of the guests involved for any offence that may have been caused. While the team member may have believed she was acting with her own good intentions, she did not handle the situation in an appropriate manner.’

Advice from the Chief Medical Officer says that women trying to conceive or who are pregnant should avoid drinking alcohol.

Excess alcohol consumption can be the cause of a condition known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which causes mental retardation and birth defects. But other experts say an occasional glass of wine will not harm a child.

Some people just don’t get it…

SOURCE

Group To Develop National Guidelines On How Much Alcohol — if any — Is Safe During Pregnancy

Lisa — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:44:05 +0000

The group representing obstetricians and gynaecologists said Thursday it will develop national guidelines on how much alcohol — if any — is safe for women to consume leading up to and during pregnancy.

“The advice is extremely inconsistent, the advice is sometimes downright wrong and the perception on the part of the public is extremely wide and varied,” said Dr. Vyta Senikas, a spokeswoman for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Because there are currently no guidelines in Canada, advice varies from province to province and from physician to physician.

“I have patients who think a couple of beers a day is not an issue. And the question is, is it an issue? That’s what we’re going to look at,” Senikas said. “And it has to do with the equivalents of what a couple of beers are and what a martini is. And there’s the whole issue of binge drinking and patterns of alcohol drinking. It’s a review of the literature on that.”

She said one doctor may tell a pregnant woman, or a woman trying to get pregnant, “don’t drink at all,” while another may say “moderate drinking” is OK.

“Are we talking about a beer? So what’s the percentage of alcohol? Are we talking about a Canadian beer or imported beer? Light beer, wine, cocktails. What are we talking about there? A lot of people, when they think of alcohol, they think of liquor like gin, whiskey. But they may not think of beer,” she said. “We’ve been made aware the message is inconsistent and may in fact be wrong.”

The goal is to put together the best national and international information available to develop guidelines and recommendations for physicians to give to patients.

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists estimates between one and six out of every 1,000 children are born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, a term that refers to disabilities that can result from alcohol use during pregnancy.

It is about time that everyone is on the same page.

SOURCE

Another Pregnant Woman Caught Driving Drunk

Lisa — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:52:53 +0000

Here’s a good mom-to-be…A heavily pregnant woman has pleaded guilty to drink driving at more than four times the legal limit, not wearing her seat belt and driving unlicensed.

Amber Jade Mills, 23, was stopped last November when police saw her swerving, beeping the horn and parking across two spaces.

When the police pulled her over, she blew a blood alcohol reading of 0.226.

The mom-to-be is being assessed for home detention and will appear in court again later this month.

It is her third drink driving offence.

SOURCE

Drunk Baby Born ‘15 Times’ Over the Limit

Lisa — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:21:27 +0000

A baby girl, born Monday in Poland, had a blood alcohol level of 0.29 percent, almost 15 times over the country’s adult drunk-driving limit of 0.02 percent, according to a report.

In the U.S., the adult drunk-driving limit is 0.08.

Doctors at a hospital in Otwock, on the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland, called the police after the drunk expectant mother checked in to give birth.

The 38-year-old mother’s blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent, which is the equivalent of drinking a bottle of wine, according to the report.

The mother could face up to five years in prison on charges of endangering the life and health of her child, it is reported. Doctors said the baby is not in immediate danger, but the alcohol may impact her development.

Last summer I was shocked to write about another Polish baby that was tested 12 hours after he was born and found to have a blood-alcohol level six times the legal limit for driving.

Who drinks a bottle of wine when they are 40 weeks pregnant?

SOURCE

*FILE PHOTO*

Couple Hoping To Adopt Approaches Waitress In An Unusual Way

Lisa — Sat, 24 May 2008 05:23:38 +0000

Julie Moore is five months pregnant and she doesn’t wear her wedding ring.

Last Friday night after she was done serving a couple dinner, instead of leaving a tip – they left her an unusual card.

It read: “We wish to adopt a baby. We are caring, happily married, financially secure and a loving couple. We want to share our joy and love for a child.”

The note also had a phone number on it.

Julie’s husband, J.D. said he thought it was “really creepy” and both felt it was a rude slap in the face.

“I don’t wear a wedding ring at work and so for them to assume I’m not married or that I’m working in a service industry and that I maybe couldn’t afford to have a child or something, I don’t know. I just felt there were too many assumptions there,” Moore said.

KING-TV called the phone number on the card, which was directed to the couple’s attorney. He said they have not gotten any negative responses to their unusual method of finding a baby to adopt. They were doing nothing illegal.

The Moore’s feel bad for this couple, but think that they crossed the line.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

SOURCE

Morning Sickness Causes Mom To Loose 42lbs During Pregnancy

Lisa — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:30:45 +0000

When I was pregnant, I was lucky to not have any morning sickness at all.

Fiona Shaw wasn’t so lucky. At five weeks pregnant she had morning sickness so bad, she could barely keep half a biscuit down.

By 28 weeks she had plummeted from a size 14, 170lbs to a size six, 128 lbs.

When an ultrasound revealed that the baby was suffering causing her to need an emergency c-section.

Tianna was born more than two months premature weighing just 2lb 5oz.

At one point the mom-to-be was admitted to hospital with dehydration and blurred vision. “I was diagnosed with hyperemesis, or severe morning sickness, and given anti-sickness drugs and had a scan, but they said everything was all right with the baby,” she said.

Unfortunately, the drugs did not work, and by week ten she was back in hospital.

“It got to the point where just the smell of food made me feel sick,” she said.

At 21 weeks Fiona thought she needed another ultrasound because her weight still falling.

The results were fine, but another scan at 28 weeks in August gave alarming news.

Tianna had barely put on any weight and there seemed to be problems with her heart rate.

Within the hour, the baby was delivered.

Tianna weighs 15lb, and her 5ft 6in mother is back to a healthy weight. SOURCE

More Moms Breast Feeding

Lisa — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:54:26 +0000

A newly released US Government report finds that breast-feeding in the US is at its highest mark in at least 20 years with more than three-quarters of new moms nursing their infants.

About 77 percent of new mothers breast-feed, at least briefly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Experts attributed the rise to education campaigns that emphasize that breast milk is better than formula at protecting babies against disease and childhood obesity. A changing culture that accommodates nursing mothers may also be a factor.

The CDC provided a racial breakdown stating:

The percentage of black infants who were ever breast-fed rose most dramatically, to 65 percent. Only 36 percent were ever breast-fed in 1993-1994, the new study found.
For whites, the figure rose to 79 percent, from 62 percent. For Mexican-Americans, it increased to 80 percent, from 67 percent.

At least three types of CDC surveys have shown breast-feeding rates moving upward since the early 1990s, officials said.

The latest CDC report found rates of breast-feeding were also lowest among women who are unmarried, poor, rural, younger than 20, and have a high school education or less.

It’s nice to see that moms are open minded about breast feeding. Even if they don’t continue for a long period at least the baby got the initial benefit.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

SOURCE

Australian Moms To Be Able To Insure Their Unborn Fetus’

Lisa — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:50:23 +0000

If you had the opportunity to insure your unborn fetus would you?

Would you pay a premium to know that if your baby arrives with a congenital defect, your family will receive money, which could help offset medical expenses?

The insurance company ING has devised a baby policy for women aged 16 to 40 which will deliver payouts of up to 50,000 dollars (46,640 US) for babies born with Down’s syndrome, spina bifida or a cleft palate, the Sun-Herald said.

A stillborn baby could get a 10,000-dollar payout while women who suffered complications during pregnancy or birth could also be awarded a pay-out, it said.

ING spokesman Mark Vilo said the new policy allowed the company to match up with “social trends and advances in medical technology,” the paper said.

“Every woman in the process of having a child knows the risks,” he said.

“We don’t make people undergo genetic testing to find out things they don’t want to.”

“With the median age of new mums now nearly 31, (up from 27 in 1985), the risk of pregnancy complications and birth defects increases dramatically,” ING said on its website.

“For a women aged 35 or more the risk of stillborn is 1 in 440, as opposed to 1 in 1,000 for younger women.”

If this became available to North America women I would do it. Knowing that there could be a fund that would help contribute to the needs of my baby if he/she was born with issues is reassuring.

One of the biggest stress factors that parents of special needs kids have is trying to finance all of the gear their child needs.

The New South Wales Midwives Association, believes that this policy plays on the fears of pregnant women.

“It is marketing fear and uncertainty when women are vulnerable during pregnancy.”

I disagree with this association because I think that this insurance company is just being practical. Babies are born with special issues everyday.

At some point the parents will be out of pocket for a lot of extra expenses (special food, nursing, strollers, seats, equipment and alternative forms of travel). Having this would ease that stress.

It’s Ok To ‘Booze Binge’ While Pregnant???

Lisa — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:57:24 +0000

When I read this headline, I wondered, “What is this world coming to?”

We have covered this subject extensively so it came as a SHOCK to read the headlines this week stating that pregnant moms could not only drink, while they are pregnant, they could binge drink (5 drinks in one sitting)!!!

There is some pleasure in knowing that this study, that was done at Oxford University, has caused a furore in medical circles.

“When pregnant women report isolated episodes of binge drinking in the absence of a consistently high daily alcohol intake … the evidence of risk seems minimal,” the researchers wrote in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, published Wednesday.

The article goes on to say that:

The findings could provide comfort to expectant mothers who have been on a drinking binge before realising they are pregnant.

Health groups are furious, claiming the research sends a dangerous message to women already confused about conflicting advice on alcohol and pregnancy.The research comes just weeks after Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council released new guidelines warning pregnant women there was no safe drinking level.

Previously women were told they could drink up to seven standard drinks a week without risking their baby’s health.

“I don’t buy this nonsense that the evidence does not exist so drink up. The evidence does not exist so the safest thing to do is refrain,” said Sonia Berton, chief executive of Arbias, Australia’s only service for people with alcohol-related brain damage.

“The alcohol will reach your unborn baby within one minute and she/he will have exactly the same blood alcohol content as you do (and) the alcohol also stays in your baby longer than it does in you.” National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Related Disorders

“A fetus does not have a mature enough liver until week nine weeks – so how on earth is consuming alcohol safe?”

The effects of sustained heavy drinking during pregnancy include miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight and birth defects such as fetal alcohol syndrome.

The study did however find that evidence that occasional binge drinking could cause brain damage leading to behavioural problems, learning difficulties and speech impairment. But the effects were “‘generally quite small”. [How could brain damage be considered an effect that is "generally quite small"?]

“These are not small effects. Having a child that can’t learn at school, that doesn’t make friends easily, that doesn’t understand cause and effect, is not a small problem, especially as it’s with them for the rest of their life.” Sue Miers from the National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Related Disorders

Someone who needs to drink 5 drinks at a time while pregnant shouldn’t be having a baby. They are clearly not ready to make the sacrifices necessary to raise a healthy, strong child.