Alcohol and Pregnancy
08/03/2010
Pregnancy brings with it a whole range of health issues to think about. Those who drink alcohol regularly will need to consider how it could affect their unborn baby.
At one point it was a general belief that a couple of drinks every now and then during pregnancy was fine. However, although some guidelines still say pregnant women can safely drink a small amount of alcohol, the latest advice from the Government urges women to avoid alcohol altogether when they’re pregnant and when they’re trying to conceive. The guidelines were updated following Government research which found that one in ten pregnant women were drinking too much.
The issue with drinking whilst pregnant is that alcohol can make its ways into the bloodstream and then into the placenta, and potentially into the baby’s blood. This could have an impact on a baby’s development, especially its nervous system and organs.
Drinking whilst pregnant has been linked to low birth weight, facial disfiguration and learning difficulties.
When considering drinking alcohol whilst pregnant, many women come to the conclusion that it’s safest not to have any alcohol at all during their pregnancy. Any that decide they will drink are strongly urged by experts to stay within the guidelines laid out by NICE.
Many women like to experiment with non-alcoholic drinks like juice and flavoured waters. Non-alcoholic versions of many alcoholic drinks are also available. Its common for a woman’s partner to stop drinking during the pregnancy by way of support.
