If you regularly drink alcohol and you suddenly become pregnant, you are definitely at the edge of quitting drinking for nine months. Is it okay to drink while pregnant? Well, the answer can be very confusing even if you are going to ask your doctor. Most doctors will tell you to avoid alcohol while pregnant while other doctors advise light drinking.
Studies revealed that alcohol can cause mental and physical birth defects and so doctors strongly recommend to completely avoid drinking throughout the course of pregnancy. If you are pregnant and you keep on drinking, you are literally exposing yourself to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
The alcohol content moves through the placenta and as you know the baby inside the tummy is getting nutrition from what you eat and this nutrition will be delivered to your baby via the placenta. If you drink alcohol, your baby literally drinks alcohol too. The worst thing is that the baby inside your tummy does not have the ability to breakdown end products of alcohol. As a result, your baby’s vital organs will be affected which can lead to various disease conditions affecting the brain and spinal cord.
In The First Few Weeks
Is drinking alcohol in the first week of pregnancy safe? During the first few weeks of pregnancy, the fetus is not full grown. It is just a developing embryo and the embryo gets the nutrition from the yolk and not from the placenta. This generally takes place during the first four to six weeks of pregnancy. This finding is quite reassuring, but this does not mean you can be careless in drinking alcohol. Again, it is safe to stay away from alcohol the moment you find out you are pregnant.
Legality
Does the law prohibit drinking alcohol during pregnancy? If you are pregnant and you order for alcoholic drink in a bar, the bartender will use his own judgment as to whether he’ll give you a drink or not. A pregnant woman has only the right to file a lawsuit to the bartender if you feel like you are discriminated. However, you should be aware that some bars prohibit serving alcoholic beverages to pregnant woman. It should be based on the moral and principles of the management of the bar. But then again, the decision to drink alcohol while pregnant is a pro choice.
Statistics
Statistics revealed that older women are more likely to consume alcoholic beverages throughout their pregnancy. Moreover, one in every 13 pregnant women drink alcohol and out of four pregnant women one of them is binge drinking. A thorough research also showed that pregnant women in their 18 years to 45 years drink alcohol while they are pregnant.
Effects On Baby
If you are going to drink alcohol while pregnant, the contents of alcohol will be quickly absorbed by your baby through your placenta. Unluckily, the baby inside the womb does not have the ability to breakdown alcohol content. As a result, your baby will have a high level of alcohol in the bloodstream. As a matter of fact, higher than what you actually have.
Below are some of the negative side effects of drinking alcohol when pregnant;
• It increases the risk of miscarriage
• Low birth weight is associated with babies whom mothers drink alcohol during pregnancy
• It increases the risk of physical and mental development delay such as language, speech, low attention span, and hyperactivity disorder.
• There is a tendency that the child exhibits aggressive behavior in his adulthood stage
• Mental health problems can be commonly exhibited by children whom mothers drink alcohol while pregnant
Conclusion
Is it really safe to drink alcohol if you are pregnant? Not really! It is best to completely eliminate alcohol in your diet throughout the course of your pregnancy. If you continue to drink while pregnant, your baby is at risk for various diseases or generally known as FASD or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This is the term used to describe birth disorders associated with alcohol drinking during pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the worst case of alcohol drinking while pregnant.