Hello Doctor, is it in order to drink alcohol while pregnant? How does alcohol affect pregnancy? – Jean
Dear Jean,
Depending on the dose, duration and developmental stage of the embryo at exposure, taking alcohol in the days preceding and during pregnancy may have harmful effects on the brain, spinal chord and other organs of the developing baby.
Dose and frequency
At high repetitive doses, there is a 6–10 per cent risk of the fetus developing before birth occurs (prenatal) and postnatal after birth (postnatal) growth deficiency, specific flaws in appearance involving the skull and the face (dysmorphic features), mental retardation, behavioral changes and a variety of major anomalies (the fetal alcoholic syndrome).
Whereas at lower repetitive doses, there is a risk for slight intellectual impairment, growth disturbances and behavioral changes.
Binge drinking
Even binge drinking which is defined as four or more alcoholic drinks for females on the same occasion, may impose some danger of slight intellectual deficiency.
Effects on the future life of the child
A research done in Dublin, Ireland at Mater University in 2008 found out that increased risk of alcohol consumption among adolescents 14 years old was found in those whose mothers reported alcohol consumption before, during and after pregnancy. There was an increased risk of early alcohol initiation among the ones exposed to greater alcohol use during pregnancy.
How the child drinks
Alcohol as a drug crosses the placenta, implying that when you drink alcohol in pregnancy, your unborn child also drinks.
What alcohol actually does
Increasing doses of alcohol lead to excessive production of an influencer of various enzymes and processes (NADH) common and vital to some of the basic functions of life, including respiration (redox reactions), with a concomitant decrease in the formation of glucose leading to lower sugar levels in the blood (hypoglycemia). These reduced sugar levels among other toxic by product of alcohol procession (acetaldehyde) have an effect on the child’s developing brain and other organs leading to intra uterine growth restrictions.
