Women across the world often ask these questions: can I drink alcohol if I am trying to conceive a child? Can I drink alcohol if I'm pregnant?
The answers they receive vary from country to country and culture to culture.
I truly believe that alcohol is so FORBIDDEN to pregnant women in the United States because of our fear of alcohol (prohibition anyone?). In many countries across the world, pregnant women are told they can enjoy a light amount of alcohol during pregnancy.
So why not here?
Well firstly, it is easier to tell people NO ALCOHOL AT ALL than to explain what moderation means. Some people would take moderation as meaning a bottle of wine and end up suing the surgeon general for misleading them when they miscarry or have a child with special needs. We are a sue happy nation.
Alcohol is still a heavily regulated vice with MANY counties in states that refuse to sell anything stronger then beer. Many states require a state approved store to sell alcohol (often called ABC stores). This is done to control consumption of alcohol and regulate access to it.
Starting to see a pattern? I certainly do.
There is ZERO conclusive scientific evidence that proves light to moderate drinking is harmful. This is because it is considered unethical to expose pregnant women to any substances. Scientists are uncertain about the effects of many things on pregnant women because of this stipulation. Therefore, the information we have comes from surveys and from those who have over indulged during their pregnancy. It has yet to be proven that women cannot enjoy 1-2 glasses of wine or a few beers during the week for fear of abnormalities being created in the fetus during gestation.
The only way to conclusively discover correlations between alcohol consumption and birth defects/loss of the fetus is to conduct blood alchol level tests on a daily basis then track the development of the child during the first five years of life. This scientific analysis has not been done yet. When (and if) it does, we will have a better concept of what alchol does to development.
My final point is that every person absorbs alcohol differently. What 1 glass of wine does to me and what it does to you are two different things. This is the last reason as to why this "research" on light alcohol usage during conception and pregnancy is inconclusive.
blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/th...
www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/data...
