Many women continue to smoke and drink alcohol in spite of medical warnings.
Medical experts have been issuing many warnings in relation to the effects of alcohol consumption on pregnant women and their fetuses, but very few women actually care about them. New statistics have revealed 1 in 10 pregnant women consume alcohol, ignoring doctors’ recommendations.
A new survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests an alarmingly high percentage of pregnant women continue to drink even after they find out they are expecting. The discovery was made, based on the analysis of 200,000 answers provided by pregnant women between 2011 and 2013.
The majority of the respondents have stated that they sometimes consume alcohol, particularly on special occasions. Some pregnant women even practice binge drinking, in spite of the harmful consequences it could have on their health and the health of their babies.
Binge drinking has been labeled as consumption of at least four alcoholic beverages on one single occasion. The majority of the pregnant women, who have admitted to binge drinking were aged 21 to 24 years old.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has concluded, based on the recent findings that new measures have to be adopted in order to prevent alcohol consumption among mothers to be. The urgency of such medical campaigns is all the more obvious considering the effects of alcohol consumption on pregnant women and their fetuses.
Previous medical studies have revealed that children can suffer birth defects and development problems if their mothers do not refrain from drinking during pregnancy. The first months of pregnancy are considered to be the most important, but alcohol could cause stillbirth, miscarriage and preterm births during all trimesters.
The fetus is very sensitive during pregnancy because this is the period when brain and body functions get developed. The alcohol that mothers consume during pregnancy ends up in the baby’s blood causing severe developmental damages.
Children can, thus, develop, smaller body organs, flat faces or narrow eye openings. They can also inherit behavioral and learning problems, while some children may not be even able to correctly feed themselves.
Most warnings are issued in relation to binge drinking, but medical experts remind pregnant women that alcohol can be dangerous at all times, regardless of the quantity. Scientists recommend women to avoid alcohol at all costs if they want their fetuses to be healthy.
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