Pregnant? You Might Not Want to Have That Occasional Glass of Wine
You likely already have strong feelings about drinking during pregnancy — perhaps you think the occasional sip of wine is fine, or maybe you would never touch alcohol from the moment you found out you were expecting. Regardless, a new study from the American Academy of Pediatrics says no amount of alcohol is OK to drink at any time during pregnancy. The clinical report, entitled "Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders" (FASDs), was published in the November 2015 issue of Pediatrics and says that "prenatal exposure to alcohol . . . is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities in children." The pediatricians' study found that drinking in the first trimester — when compared to not drinking at all — results in 12 times the odds of the baby being born with FASDs, and drinking throughout the first and second trimester increased the likelihood by a factor of 65. "The research suggests that the smartest choice for women who are pregnant is to just abstain from alcohol completely," said Dr. Janet F. Williams, one of the lead authors. An NBC News medical contributor discusses the findings on Today in the above video. See what she has to say, and let us know your thoughts in the comments. |
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