Alcohol and Pregnancy

Everything you eat and drink while you are pregnant affects your baby. If you drink alcohol, it can hurt your baby's growth.

The following has been adapted from the March of Dimes and the other websites listed at the bottom of the page..

Alcohol in alcoholic beverages can harm unborn children. When a pregnant woman drinks, alcohol passes swiftly through the placenta to her baby. In the unborn baby's immature body, alcohol is broken down much more slowly than in an adult's body. As a result, the alcohol level of the baby's blood can be even higher and can remain elevated longer than the level in the mother's blood. This sometimes causes the baby to suffer lifelong damage.

Women who drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy can give birth to children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). Children with FAS may have mental retardation, behavioral problems, poor coordination, malformed hearts and brains, and distinct facial features, such as small eyes and a small upturned nose. Many of the same problems are also observed in children with FAE, but the symptoms are less severe.

Woman who drink alcohol while pregnant are also more likely to have a miscarriage, a stillbirth, or a low birth weight baby. Because a safe level of alcohol intake during pregnancy cannot be determined, the March of Dimes (MOD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that pregnant women do not consume any alcohol.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause physical and mental birth defects. Each year, more than 40,000 babies are born with some degree of alcohol related damage. Although many women are aware that heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause birth defects, many do not realize that moderate, or even light, drinking also may harm the fetus.

In fact, no level of alcohol use during pregnancy has been proven safe. Therefore, the March of Dimes recommends that pregnant women do not drink any alcohol, including beer, wine, wine coolers and hard liquor throughout their pregnancy and while nursing. In addition, because women often do not know they are pregnant for a few months, women who may be pregnant or those who are attempting to become pregnant should abstain from alcoholic beverages.

What are the hazards of drinking alcohol during pregnancy?

In general, alcohol-related birth defects are more likely to result from drinking during the first trimester, while growth problems are more likely to result from drinking in the third trimester. However, drinking at any stage of pregnancy can affect the brain.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year between 1,300 and 8,000 babies in the United States are born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a combination of physical and mental birth defects. FAS occurs in about 6 percent of the babies born to women who are alcoholics or chronic alcohol abusers.

The effects of FAS last a lifetime. Even if not mentally retarded, adolescents and adults with FAS have varying degrees of psychological and behavioral problems and often find it difficult to hold down a job and live independently.

During pregnancy, how much alcohol is too much?

No level of drinking has been proven safe. The full pattern of FAS usually occurs in offspring of chronic alcohol abusers, most often in women who drink four to five or more drinks daily. However, it has occurred in women who drink less.

If a pregnant woman has one or two drinks before she realizes she is pregnant, can it harm the baby?

If you drank alcohol before you knew you were pregnant, stop drinking now. You will feel better and your baby will have a good chance to be born healthy. If you want to get pregnant, do not drink alcohol. You may not know you are pregnant right away. Alcohol can hurt a baby even when you are only 1 or 2 months pregnant.   Because no amount of alcohol is proven safe, a woman should stop drinking immediately if she even suspects she could be pregnant, and she should abstain from all alcohol if attempting to become pregnant.

How can I stop drinking?

There are many ways to help yourself stop drinking. You do not have to drink when other people drink. If someone gives you a drink, it is OK say no. Stay away from people or places that make you drink. Do not keep alcohol at home. If you need help you can talk with your health care provider, local hospital social worker, or contact a local Alcohol Anonymous group.

What other problems can drinking alcohol during pregnancy cause?

Consuming alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight and stillbirth. Heavy drinkers are two to four times more likely to have a miscarriage between the fourth and sixth months of pregnancy than are nondrinkers. A recent Danish study found that women who drank five or more drinks a week were three times more likely to have a stillborn baby than women who had fewer than one drink a week.

Is it safe to drink alcohol while breastfeeding?

Small amounts of alcohol do get into breast milk and are passed on to the baby. One study found that the breast fed babies of women who had one or more drinks a day were a little slower in acquiring motor skills (such as crawling and walking) than babies who had not been exposed to alcohol. Large amounts of alcohol may also interfere with ejection of milk from the breast. For these reasons, the March of Dimes recommends that women abstain from alcohol while they are nursing.

Can heavy drinking by the father contribute to FAS?

To date, there is no proof that heavy drinking by the father can cause FAS. There is, however, increasing evidence that heavy alcohol use by the male can lower the level of the male hormone testosterone, leading to low sperm counts and, occasionally, to infertility. Men who stop drinking during their partner's pregnancy also help the partner avoid alcohol.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
Check your local phone book for
listings in your area.

National Council on Alcoholism
and Drug Dependence
20 Exchange Place Suite 2902
New York, NY 10005-3201
(800) 622-2255

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism
5635 Fishers Lane, MSC 9304
Bethesda, MD 20892-9304
(301) 443-3860

National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
900 17th Street, NW, Suite 910
Washington, DC 20006
(800) 66-NOFAS