Monday 21 June 2021

Drinking while pregnant

Once again there is a controversy about having a drink. This time it's about drinking a glass of wine or having a beer when you are pregnant. Luckily, I don't need to worry about this. For balance , I thought I would link to  two different points of view.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/style/drinking-while-pregnant.html

https://www.fatherly.com/health-science/drinking-pregnancy-safe-harmful/


My own point of view is that it is up to a woman to decide whether she want's a glass of wine during pregnancy. However, she might want to consider all of the facts or simply hold the view that a couple of small glasses of wine a week won't damage her or her baby's health even though there is no absolute proof that drinking any quantity of wine, beer or whiskey is safe.

We are faced with risks all our lives and there is only one certainty and that is death. Women are bombarded with advice about what and what not to do when they are pregnant. Let each woman decide what is best for her own health and that of the unborn child. 

One thing is certain, there is a point where alcohol consumption will damage the health of the unborn child, but there is very little research to show where this point is, either for the individual or for the population in general. It is probably best for women who are pregnant to err on the side of caution about the amount of alcohol that they consume, and this advice is salient for us all. This does not mean that we have to be the abstinent killjoys that some medical doctors profess, even if we are pregnant.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2214-109X(17)30008-6/fulltext

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/pregnancy-drinking-units-allowed-health-baby-harm-a7941316.html