Drinking During Pregnancy - Latest Findings

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have discovered that drinking during pregnancy increases the risk of premature birth by three times.  There have always been conflicting messages about how much or even whether women should or should not drink when they are expecting a baby, and this new research attempted to clarify the conflicting messages.

A staggering 60,000 women were questioned,  all of which who were between 10 and 12 weeks pregnant.  The results they gave were then tallied up and studied once they had had their babies.  Those who drank more than 20 units a week were considered to be heavy drink drinkers, and it seems, they were more likely to have premature babies.

A fifth of the women said that they never drank and 71% claimed to be occasional drinkers (that's 0-5 units a week). However, some women could have been misreported or under-estimating their drinking habits.  >10% of the pregnant women drank a moderate amount of alcohol (which is 6-20 units a week). These women were more likely to smoke, be in work and to have private health care compared to those who never drank.

Approximately 2 in 1000 admitted to being heavy drinkers (which means they drank more than 20 units per week).  The babies born to these women we more prone to very premature birth and all the problems premature babies have.

The best advice is to avoid alcohol all together just to be sure!