Drinking While Pregnant? Worst Effects are During First Trimester

A woman has to give up many things the moment she’s expecting a child, if not her entire lifestyle altogether. Along with other sacrifices, she also has to cut down on what used to be normal for her, like habits such as drinking. Regardless of how much or how often she used to drink, the bottom line is, alcohol intake can prove debilitating to a fetus’s development.

According to a latest research study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, it is during the end of a pregnant woman’s first trimester that alcohol takes a biggest toll on an unborn child. In fact, alcohol can cause brain and behavioral problems, as well as physical deformities, part of what are called fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). An estimated 40,000 women in the U.S. give birth each year to children with FASDs.

Get this: a study reveals that for every additional drink that women have between their 43rd and 84th day being pregnant, the chances of their child being born smaller increases by as much as 16 percent. These babies would also be highly likely to suffer from birth defects: a 25 percent greater chance to lose the “cupid’s bow”, or that curve above the upper lip; a 12 percent more likely to be born with a smaller than normal head, and a 22 percent greater chance to have abnormally thin lips.

What do doctors advise? Avoid alcohol at all costs while pregnant. Don’t take the risk. Keep your child’s health and optimum development your priority before anything else. Losing the alcohol may also be a good way for you to try out other activities that don’t put a strain on your baby’s wellbeing. 

Sources:

• January 18, 2012. Alice Park. “Alcohol in Pregnancy: It’s Never Safe, Especially Not in the First Trimester” healthland.time.com

• “Drinking alcohol during pregnancy” marchofdimes.com 

• “Alcohol and Pregnancy: What You Should Know” americanpregnancy.org 

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