Not Even One Glass

by Kim Neyer | More from this Blogger

I've been reading some conflicting views on drinking alcohol during pregnancy this evening. Some are insisting one drink, once in a while, certainly can't cause much harm, while other studies are revealing that alcohol affects the fetus at the DNA level. The former group says that kind of research only applies to women who drink a lot, but my question is, how many sips of alcohol can you take before it's one too many? Can researchers draw a line? Is it the fifth martini that causes the cleft palate or the flattened features? Is it the tenth glass of wine that causes the malformed skull or the fifteenth that causes the intellectual disabilities? If one glass of wine doesn't seem to affect one person, yet leaves another nearly inebriated, how can we apply a one glass limit to all pregnant women? I strongly recommend that drinking alcohol be on the list of absolute "don'ts" during pregnancy. There is just no reason to drink that can be justified if a woman is putting the health of her baby first, as she should.

Why do some women insist on being able to have a glass here and there during pregnancy? There are absolutely no health benefits to drinking alcohol. A single glass of red wine contains antioxidants and can be good for your health, but doctors stress that advice only applies to those who already drink. They say do not start drinking if you have not already to get these benefits, eat dark chocolate or a similar antioxidant rich food instead. It's not a violation of rights or a social faux pas to tell a pregnant woman to not drink. Telling a pregnant woman not to drink during pregnancy simply cannot be compared to telling her how much weight to gain, whether to consume fish, or whether to avoid hot dogs. Alcohol absolutely and negatively affects the baby. There is no longer any question of whether that is true, it is only a question of the degree of damage.

This is not to place guilt on those women who drank before they knew they were pregnant, but to strongly encourage those women who are knowingly pregnant to avoid all alcohol during their pregnancy. Not drinking for nine months out of your entire adult life is not going to kill you. Why gamble with your child's health?

Learn more about Kim Neyer

Kim is a freelance writer, photographer and stay at home mom to her one-year-old son, Micah. She has been married to her husband, Eric, since 2006.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger