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Binge-drinking increases risk of underweight baby
Doctors warn that even half a bottle of wine during second trimester can raise risk of underweight baby by 68%

Denis Campbell

Mothers-to-be who binge-drink even once a month when they are between four and six months pregnant are greatly increasing their risk of giving birth to an underweight baby, doctors warn.

Drinking only five units of alcohol - half a bottle of wine or two pints of medium-strength beer - during the second trimester of pregnancy is enough to raise a woman's risk of having a child who is small for its gestational age by 68%, research shows.

Doctors with the Born in Bradford research project found that women who binge-drank while they were four, five or six months pregnant were on average 68% more likely to deliver a small baby.

Babies who are small at birth are at greater risk of a range of potentially serious medical problems including brain abnormalities, breathing issues and hypothermia.

Researchers including Dr Duncan Cooper, a public health registrar, examined how much alcohol 10,851 women who gave birth in Bradford between 2007 and 2010 had drunk while pregnant, based on self-reported amounts they detailed in questionnaires.

"Growth-restricted babies have a greater risk of various neonatal complications including breathing problems, respiratory infections and hypothermia and impaired neurodevelopment," said Cooper.

"While there is no risk from drinking small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy, women should not binge-drink as there are significant risks and consequences for their unborn child."

Binge-drinking of at least five units of alcohol was classed as either "occasional", which included women who did so anytime from rarely up to three times a month, or "frequent", which was more often than that up to, in some cases, almost every day.

While overall a quarter of the women binged to some degree before realising they were pregnant, that fell to 9% during the first three months and 3.1% in the second trimester. In total 9,589 participants abstained in the second trimester, 963 consumed low to moderate amounts of alcohol, while 297 binged occasionally and another 36 did so frequently. Those still binge-drinking then were well down on those doing the same - 737 occasionally and 236 frequently - during the first three months.

Occasional binge-drinkers in the second trimester had a 58% increased risk of having a small baby compared with women who did not binge drink at all then, while frequent bingers had an 130% extra risk, the researchers found. Overall, women who binge drank at all in that period had a 68% extra risk of having a baby classed as small for its gestational age (SGA), they added.

"If you drink a high volume during pregnancy your baby is at risk of developing brain abnormalities and other health problems," said Dr Shirley Brierley, a public health consultant with Bradford council.

However, binge-drinking in the second trimester did not increase the risk of a premature birth, while low to moderate drinkers in pregnancy were running no added risk of having an SGA baby, they found.

While Asian women in the study hardly drank at all during pregnancy, 40% of white British women did so.

Cooper said they could not say if one single episode of binge drinking would increase a woman's risk.

The study also proves that "as alcohol consumption increases, the risk of a small baby increases. The more you drink the higher the risk, and this increased risk is even true for women who only occasionally binge", he said.

Anna Soubry, the public health minister, said drinking while pregnant could be associated with miscarriage, foetal alcohol syndrome and a low birthweight.

"Our advice remains that women who are trying to conceive or are pregnant should avoid alcohol. If women choose to drink, to minimise the risk to the baby, they should not drink more than one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week and should not get drunk."

Ministers advise women not to drink at all if possible while pregnant and, if they do, to consume no more than one to two units a week, and to avoid binge drinking at all.

Katherine Brown, director of policy at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said: "This research adds to the established evidence that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can risk the health of the foetus. Given that there is no known 'safe' level of drinking whilst pregnant, the best advice to offer women during pregnancy is to avoid alcohol." Eric Appleby, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, endorsed the alcohol-free approach.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, the government's chief medical officer, is currently reviewing official guidelines on alcohol consumption, including advice on drinking while pregnant, after being asked to do so by MPs on the Commons science and technology select committee last year

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/sep/13/pregnancy-alcohol-underweight-baby

(Articolo pubblicato dal CUFRAD sul sito www.alcolnews.it)