Could 'Moderate' Drinking Be Safe During Pregnancy?
British study finds no problems with
balance in kids, but some experts
have concerns about the findings.
Children
of women who drink moderate amounts of
alcohol while pregnant don't appear to have
any neurodevelopmental problems when it
comes to balance, a new British study
suggests.
Researchers assessed the long-term health
impact of drinking while pregnant by testing
roughly 7,000 10-year-olds on their balancing
abilities, a method that offers a reliable
reflection of fetal neurodevelopment. For the
study, "moderate" alcohol consumption was
defined as between three to seven glasses of
alcohol a week.
The research team cautioned, however, that
other variables, such as maternal wealth and
education, might have influenced the findings.
The bottom line, according to study co-author
John Mcleod, is that "[there's] certainly no
evidence that moderate alcohol use by
pregnant mums is good for their kids, and
[there are] reasons to be cautious about other
messages around 'benefits' of moderate alcohol
use by pregnant mums. But equally, [there's]
no strong evidence for important harmful
effects."
Macleod, chair of clinical epidemiology and
primary care with the School of Social and
Community Medicine at the University of
Bristol, and his colleagues discuss their
findings in the June 17 online edition of BMJ
Open.
The research comes on the heels of another
British study, released in April, which reported
no connection between "light" drinking (one to
two drinks per week) during pregnancy and
increased risk for mental defects among
children at the age of 7.
For the new study, the researchers focused on
6,915 children from southwest England who
had participated in the larger Avon
Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
The team first analyzed maternal drinking
habits self-reported at both the 18-week mark
of pregnancy and then again when the children
were 4 years old.
The vast majority of mothers -- 70 percent --
said they drank no alcohol during pregnancy,
while 25 percent said they had consumed
drinks in the range of "low" (one to two per
week) to "moderate" amounts on a weekly
basis. Among such drinkers, one in seven had
actually engaged in "binge drinking," meaning
at least four glasses of alcohol at a sitting.
By the time their children were 4 years of age,
50 percent of the mothers said they consumed
three to seven glasses of alcohol weekly. The
research team noted that those who drank
moderately were older, more affluent and
better educated.
At the age of 10, the children underwent two
balance tests, which included walking across a
balance beam (to assess so-called "dynamic
balance"); standing heel-to-toe on a beam with
eyes open and closed (to assess "static
balance"); and standing on just one leg, eyes
open and closed.
The result: moderate maternal (and paternal)
drinking while pregnant, and maternal drinking
after delivery appeared to be associated with
better overall balance, particularly in terms of
static balance.
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