Pregnant drink wine

Drinking alcohol while pregnant - NHS

Experts are still unsure exactly how much – if any – alcohol is completely safe for you to have while you're pregnant, so the safest approach is not to drink at all while you're expecting.

Is it safe to drink alcohol when pregnant?

The Chief Medical Officers for the UK recommend that if you're pregnant or planning to become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.

Drinking in pregnancy can lead to long-term harm to the baby, with the more you drink, the greater the risk.

How does alcohol affect my unborn baby?

When you drink, alcohol passes from your blood through the placenta to your baby.

A baby's liver is one of the last organs to develop and does not mature until the later stages of pregnancy.

Your baby cannot process alcohol well, and exposure to alcohol can seriously affect their development.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and your baby having a low birthweight. It can also affect your baby after they're born.

Drinking during pregnancy can cause your baby to develop a serious condition called foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

FASD can cause problems with:

learning and behaviour
joints, bones, muscles and some organs
managing emotions and developing social skills
hyperactivity and impulse control
communication, such as problems with speech

The risk is likely to be greater the more you drink.

How to avoid alcohol in pregnancy

It may not be as difficult as you think to avoid alcohol completely during pregnancy, as many women go off the taste of alcohol early in pregnancy.

Most women do give up alcohol once they know they're pregnant or when they're planning to become pregnant.

Women who find out they're pregnant after already having drunk in early pregnancy should avoid further drinking.

However, they should not worry unnecessarily, as the risks of their baby being affected are likely to be low.

If you're concerned, talk to a midwife or doctor.

What is a unit of alcohol?

If you do decide to drink when you're pregnant, it's important to know how many units you are consuming.

One UK unit is 10 millilitres (ml) – or 8 grams – of pure alcohol. This is equal to:

just under half a pint of cider (218ml) at 4.5% alcohol by volume (ABV: you can find this on the label)
just under half a pint of beer (250ml) at 4% ABV
a single measure of spirit (25ml), such as whisky, gin, rum or vodka, at 40% ABV
just under half a standard glass of wine (76ml) at 13% ABV

You can find out how many units there are in different types and brands of drinks with the Drinkaware unit and calorie calculator.

If you have an Android smartphone, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, you can download the free One You Drinks Tracker from Google Play or the iTunes App Store. It allows you to keep a drinks diary and get feedback on your drinking.

Alcohol support services

If you have difficulty cutting down what you drink, talk to a midwife, doctor or pharmacist.

Confidential help and support is also available from local counselling services:

Drinkline – the national alcohol helpline; if you're worried about your own or someone else's drinking, call this free helpline on 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am to 8pm, weekends 11am to 4pm)
We Are With You – a UK-wide treatment agency that helps individuals, families and communities manage the effects of alcohol and drug misuse
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) – a free self-help group; its "12-step" programme involves getting sober with the help of regular support groups

Find your nearest alcohol support services.

Read more advice on cutting down your drinking.

Find maternity services near you.

Page last reviewed: 29 January 2020
Next review due: 29 January 2023

Drinking a little alcohol early in pregnancy may be okay

The usual message to pregnant women: Don't drink any alcohol. Clearly alcohol use can cause major problems for the pregnant woman and her baby.

While not drinking any alcohol during pregnancy is the safest choice, small amounts of alcohol early in pregnancy may be less risky to the mother’s health and the health of their babies than previously believed. Minimal alcohol use during the first trimester doesn’t appear to increase the risk for high blood pressure complications, or premature birth or low birth weights. That’s the findings of a study previously published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Fergus McCarthy and colleagues from Ireland, England, New Zealand, and Australia compared birth outcomes among 5,628 women who were pregnant for the first time between 2004 and 2011. More than half of them reported drinking alcohol during the first three months of pregnancy. Some (19%) reported occasionally drinking alcohol. Twenty-five percent reported low alcohol consumption, or three to seven drinks per week ("a drink" defined as a glass of wine or a little less than a 12-ounce bottle of beer). Another 15% reported having more than seven drinks per week.

Rates of premature birth, babies with low birth weight or small size, and pre-eclampsia—a potentially life-threatening condition in which a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure—were similar across the alcohol consumption categories

The potential hazard of alcohol during pregnancy

For the past few decades, women have been urged to avoid alcohol during pregnancy. Respected medical societies like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the United Kingdom's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Women both say women shouldn't drink any alcohol during pregnancy. The main reason for this is that heavy use of alcohol during pregnancy has been linked to a long-term and irreversible condition known as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).

Babies with FAS may be born early. They are often underweight and don't grow well. Some have characteristic facial features like a thin upper lip and small eye openings, or the small vertical groove between the upper lip and the nose may be flattened. Other physical signs that go along with fetal alcohol syndrome include a small head, short nose, and problems with the way the heart or the joints are formed.

Children with FAS are slower to learn language skills than other kids. When they reach school age they often have learning disabilities and difficulty with attention, memory and hyperactivity. They are more likely to have poor coordination and a hard time with problem-solving. And some have trouble making friends and relating to other kids. All of which can make school a really difficult time.

Despite this clear advice, up to half of women drink some alcohol during pregnancy.

Putting it into practice

How clear is the medical evidence supporting strict abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy? Not very strong. Other studies suggest pregnant women who have an occasional drink don't harm themselves or their baby. A 2012 Danish study, for example, found that low to moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy did not affect executive functioning among 5-year-olds. Executive functioning is a catchall term that describes the ability to perform activities such as planning, organizing, strategizing, remembering details, and managing time.

However, since it's not clear how much alcohol it takes to cause problems, the best advice remains the same: women should avoid alcohol if they are pregnant or might become pregnant.

For the many women that drank some alcohol before they realized they were pregnant, this and other studies should reassure them. They almost surely did no harm to their unborn children.

Image: The Good Brigade/Getty Images

Drank a glass of wine while pregnant? It's OK

Michelle Roberts
BBC Health Columnist

12 September 2017

Image copyright, Getty Images

Evidence that low alcohol consumption during pregnancy can harm the fetus is "surprisingly low", say British scientists.

They looked at all the available research on the subject since the 1950s and found no conclusive evidence that one or two small glasses of wine a week did any noticeable harm to the health of the mother or child.

However, this does not mean that it is completely safe, the team of scientists from the University of Bristol who conducted the study emphasizes and urges pregnant women not to drink at all just in case - as the official recommendations of the National Health Service prescribe.

At the same time, those women who drank a little during pregnancy should not worry about the fact that they harmed the health of the child.

76 milliliters

In 2016, the chief medical officer of the British National Health Service, Professor Sally Davies, revised the recommendations for pregnant women, urging them to completely abstain from alcohol throughout the entire period of pregnancy.

Similar recommendations in Western countries are usually expressed in conventional units of alcohol; one standard unit roughly corresponds to 76 ml of wine (less than half a glass in a restaurant) or 250 ml of beer.

Prior to this, pregnant women were advised that they could drink one to two conventional units per week.

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It is not known how much drinking is "safe" for a pregnant woman, but it is well known what excessive drinking during pregnancy can lead to.

Alcohol intoxication or excessive drinking in this position increases the risk of miscarriage and premature birth, and can also lead to the development of fetal alcohol syndrome in a child, that is, a combination of congenital malformations, both mental and physical.

At the same time, the risks associated with infrequent moderate drinking are not so obvious.

Dr. Louise Zucollo and her colleagues found 26 studies on this subject.

After reviewing and analyzing all of the data, scientists found no clear evidence of the harm of moderate alcohol consumption, but in seven studies, moderate drinking was associated with an 8% increase in the likelihood that a child would be born with a low birth weight.

Also in their review, published in the scientific journal BMJ Open, scientists note that infrequent drinking may increase the risk of preterm birth.

"We still need to exercise caution, but there is hope that this will help alleviate guilt and anxiety in those women who occasionally indulge in a glass of wine during pregnancy," said Professor David Spiegelhalter of the University of Cambridge commenting on the results of a new study.

However, Professor Russell Weiner of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said: “My advice to women is that if you are trying to conceive or are already pregnant, it is best not to drink alcohol at all. Regular drinking, even in small amounts, can be harmful and should be avoided. , just as a precaution."

Tips for pregnant women

If a woman drank small amounts of alcohol before she knew she was pregnant, or during the entire pregnancy, the risk that the fetus was harmed by this is very small
Women who drink regularly in early pregnancy and suddenly find out they are pregnant should stop drinking alcohol; however, they should know that in most cases their baby will not be affected
If you are worried about how much you drank during pregnancy, ask your doctor or midwife

Can you drink wine during pregnancy?

We will tell you about a study on wine consumption during pregnancy, and the choice is yours. Before we get to the experts, you must remember that the most important thing is to practice moderation in everything. Whether one glass will affect the pregnancy of a completely healthy woman - no, should you drink bottled wine during pregnancy - absolutely not. Most experts agree that the most important thing is balance. If you eat right, get enough rest, can have a glass or two of wine and stop there, you'll be fine. If you are having a complicated pregnancy and have health problems, then drinking wine is not the best idea.

Facts

We know that drinking too much alcohol during pregnancy can cause birth defects. But experts can't agree on what constitutes "excessive" drinking, and so drinking during pregnancy is completely prohibited. A recent study in Denmark indicates that a couple of glasses of wine can have a positive effect on a child's mental development. The following is a quote from a discussion of the study:

Jani Niclasen analyzed data from the Danish National Register of Mothers, which summarized data on 37,000 women between 1996 and 2002. The women completed the survey three times at different times, and when their children reached the age of seven, the children completed a survey to assess their emotions and relationships.

Professor Niklasen was surprised by her discovery: Children whose mothers drank moderately, about 90 units of alcohol during pregnancy (about two glasses a week), performed better than children whose mothers did not drink alcohol at all.

“ Non-drinking mothers scored the worst on all criteria. They were less educated, smoked more, did not play sports and watched a lot of TV ,” said the professor.

Moms who drank wine in moderation did everything else right: they exercised or exercised regularly, they ate better, watched TV in small amounts, their weight-for-height index was normal, and they were also more educated. Considering the factors mentioned above, which undoubtedly have a large impact on the development of the child, Niklasen realized that moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy also has a small but positive effect on the development of the child. ”

This discovery caused a lot of discussion. Jani Niklasen's full study and other publications on pregnancy and child development are available on

here

. The study has been cited numerous times in the media due to the fact that the results of the study dispel some of the rumors about wine consumption during pregnancy.

This is not the only study showing that drinking a glass of wine during pregnancy does not harm babies. The University of Bristol conducted a study of 7,000 preteens whose mothers admitted to drinking wine during pregnancy to test their sense of balance. According to the results of the study:

“ Low to moderate alcohol consumption does not affect a child's sense of balance ,” said Professor John Macleod of the School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol. Full results of the study are available here .

Other factors

We know that excessive drinking during pregnancy is strictly forbidden, but in order to understand if you can drink wine during pregnancy, the following factors should be considered:

Week of pregnancy
General health
Volumes of alcohol consumption (before pregnancy)

The first trimester of pregnancy is the most important stage, so you should forget about wine and alcohol at this time. The closer the day of delivery, the more likely it is that one or two glasses of wine will not have a negative effect. In fact, wine can help you relax in the later stages of your pregnancy, which is good for your baby's development. Also, in order to answer the question about wine, it is very important to take into account your general health. If you suffer from any diseases or have health problems such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., you should refrain from drinking alcohol.