You may have heard that it’s alright to consume alcohol when pregnant but that isn’t necessarily true. It isn’t known for sure how much alcohol is safe to consume when pregnant but experts do say is that either you shouldn’t consume alcohol at all when pregnant or at least not for the first three months of the pregnancy. However, if you do choose to drink and are pregnant, you can find out what alcohol does to the human body here (insert link). We also have a couple answers to questions that you may have.
Can You Drink When Pregnant?
As we mentioned above, it’s safer to not consume alcohol but there may be occasions where social circumstance or personal choice call for having a drink. If you find yourself in that position, it’s recommended that you don’t have more than one or two units (insert link to unit calculator) of alcohol on that occasion meaning that you shouldn’t feel intoxicated. Heavy (insert link to drinking patterns) or binge drinking can do serious harm to a baby. Binge drinking, for example, is drinking on weekends with the purpose of getting drunk and is usually considered having more than five units of alcohol.
What Role Does Alcohol Play in a Pregnancy?
What you consume is what your baby consumes. Heavy or binge drinking is known to cause miscarriage and premature birth and too much alcohol can also increase the risk of your baby being stillborn. Fetal alcohol spectrum syndrome (FASD) is a range of disorders that can arise in your child due to high alcohol intake during pregnancy which affects your baby’s face, organs, brain growth and nervous system. Some common disorders related to high alcohol intake during pregnancy range from birth defects to social problems to learning disabilities. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most extreme outcome of a high intake of alcohol during pregnancy which causes babies to have facial defects, low birth size and weight, slow growth during childhood as well as learning difficulties, behavioural problems, and poor coordination and muscle tone, for their entire lives. Experts are hesitant to say how much alcohol is okay to drink because of the dangers that high alcohol consumption create for pregnant women and their children.
If you do choose to drink during your pregnancy, talk to your doctor and make sure that alcohol will not cause any unwanted complications.