Many women enjoy a glass of wine or other form of alcohol now and then. The question is whether drinking during pregnancy is safe to do.
There are numerous studies that have been done, which have found the dangers and when is drinking safe to do.
Is drinking during pregnancy safe?
This depends on the amount of alcohol that you drink. The problem with alcohol is that it is a toxin, which gets into your bloodstream. This makes it much easier to be able to get to the unborn baby. Experts tend to agree that you should completely cut out alcohol during pregnancy, especially during the early trimester.
However, there have also been studies to find that drinking one or two units a week, which is around one glass of wine depending on the size of the glass and strength of alcohol, will not cause any harm on the baby.
Binge drinking is especially dangerous for the baby; this is when you drink five or more units in one session or six or more units throughout the day.
How drinking during pregnancy harms a baby
The main affect is that the baby fails to develop correctly. This is due to damage to the cells, which causes problems for the growth of organs and can even make changes to the outside of the baby, especially the face.
Another danger is to the nervous system of the child, since the alcohol will get into its body and bloodstream easily. Damaging the nervous system will affect the movement and coordination ability. There are children who are born with learning difficulties too due to the fact that the mother was drinking alcohol during the pregnancy.
Another problem with drinking is that it will affect the way that the baby grows. Most babies affected by alcohol while growing are born small and continue to remain small. Low birth weight babies are linked to having learning difficulties and other problems throughout their life.
Drinking during pregnancy before knowing
While experts will tell you to stop drinking if you are trying for a baby, there are times when this is not possible; there are times when you will not be trying for a baby with your partner. When it comes to this, you may be worried about the damage that you have already done, especially if you constantly went out for binge drinking.
There is very little known about the harm that alcohol has in the first few weeks of pregnancy. It is imperative that you stop drinking now so that no lasting damage is done to the child. Now that you know you are pregnant, you need to remember about the new life.
Avoid drinking during pregnancy
The best thing to do is to avoid drinking throughout your pregnancy all together. If you enjoy the taste of the alcohol then you can switch your drinks for non-alcoholic options. The good news is that these have fewer calories in too so you will not gain as much as weight you would while drinking.
There are a number of cocktails that are all made of fruit juice which taste great. Instead of drinking a Bloody Mary, take out the vodka and switch to the virgin form. This will help you to enjoy a night out with friends and still keep your baby safe.
