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Early Pregnancy Warnings One or Two Drinks Daily May Harm Baby
Aug. 15 — Women in early pregnancy, and even those who
are considering becoming pregnant, should cut out cocktails, wine and beer
completely, according to the results of a preliminary study on animals. |
Researchers
found that one or two drinks a day, even during early pregnancy, may be just
as damaging to neurobehavioral development of infants as exposing them to drinking
throughout the pregnancy or during its late stages. And because
alcohol can have an impact even before the pregnancy is detected, scientists
suggest women who are trying to get pregnant stop drinking. Drinking
Moms, Inattentive Baby Monkeys The study
looked at 63 rhesus monkeys, whose mothers consumed up to two alcoholic
drinks a day during the equivalent of a human trimester. The baby monkeys'
attention spans and motor maturity were significantly reduced, though their
growth was not, according to the research, reported in the August issue of Alcoholism:
Clinical and Experimental Research. For a long
time, most doctors have told pregnant women not to drink, or at least not to
drink heavily, because of the possibility of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. More
liberal doctors have said an occasional glass of wine won't hurt. "The
study is early, but it clearly suggests drinking at any point in the
pregnancy can cause some harmful effects," ABCNEWS' Dr. Nancy Snyderman
said. "So why put yourself at any sort of risk? Don't drink if you're
pregnant." Fetal
Alchol Syndrome Rising Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome is the leading cause of mental retardation. The Centers for Disease
Control estimates that there has been a six-fold increase in the number of
babies born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in the last 15 years. Meanwhile, a
1998 survey by the CDC found that the number of pregnant women who reported
drinking rose from 9.5 percent in 1992 to 15.3 percent three years later. The
researchers, led by Dr. Mary Schneider of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, found that a key factor may be when a pregnant woman
drinks, rather than how much she drinks. Better
off Tee-Totaling The study's
bottom line: if you're pregnant or even thinking of becoming pregnant,
researchers do not know what a safe level for drinking is, and you are better
off not drinking at all. The monkeys
used in the study are the closest that scientists can come to human studies,
Snyderman said. Schneider said
that earlier studies were deceptive, because women who report drinking late
in pregnancy have usually consumed throughout, so it's hard to sort out their
timeline. Also, since
many women of childbearing age drink regularly, it's likely that some
offspring are exposed to alcohol before pregnancy is detected. |
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