Is It Necessary for Pregnant Women to Completely Abstain from All Alcoholic Beverages?

Is it Necessary for Pregnant Women to Completely Abstain from All Alcoholic Beverages?
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Is it Necessary for Pregnant Women to Completely Abstain from All Alcoholic Beverages?
Women’s health during pregnancy is essential both for the well-being of the mother and child. They are several substances and foods that their intake or use by expectant mothers can adversely affect the development of the child. One of the habits that most of the clinicians more so the pediatricians and gynecologists/Obstetricians often advise pregnant women to avoid is the intake of alcohol. Several available data or study outcomes reveals that a significant percentage of pregnant women consume alcohol. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, one out of ten women admits consumption some form of alcoholic drink while pregnant in the United States of America. The “no alcohol drink” for pregnant women advice advocated by some of the health experts has been challenged by some of the health specialists who find complete abstinence from alcohol by pregnant women unnecessary. Consumption of low levels of alcohol during pregnancy is widespread in most of the countries; it is, therefore, essential to have an in-depth evaluation of scientific facts and research studies to establish its safety during pregnancy. These facts will enable pregnant women to make informed decisions and either avoid or cautiously take alcohol to prevent slowing down fetal development and compromising their health.
The critique of complete alcohol avoidance in pregnancy refers to several research studies that have found out that children who were born by pregnant women who were rational drinkers had no significant complications. According to the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health published in 2015, there are no increased risks of cognitive or behavioral problems in children of up to the age of five years whose mothers consumed alcohol at least twice per week (Vall, Salat-Batlle, & Garcia-Algar, 2015). However, most of these women were consuming drinks with low alcohol content at standard rates during pregnancy. Though not supporting alcohol intake during the gestation period, the American Academy of Pediatrics also admits the lack of specific evidence that indicates that moderate drinking during pregnancy is harmful. The academy report, however, states that balanced alcohol intake can prompt other underlying health problems but cannot be the sole reason for most of the development impairments in children below the age of 5. A healthy woman who consumes at least two drinks twice a week has no potential risk to the growth of the fetus or the mother. Despite some of these assumptions, there is no specific scientific study that has provided proof of how much alcohol consumption is safe during pregnancy. According to Mcdonald et al., (2014), “there is no research study that provides substantive evidence which specific time in pregnancy is any amount of alcohol is safe.” However, most of the studies agree that the risks of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder increase with the intake of alcohol of any quantity. The high the alcohol intake during pregnancy, the higher the chances of th...