PREGNANCY: WHAT SHOULD I DO AND NOT DO?

Alcohol. You will hear varying reports on the safety, or otherwise, of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Many studies have been done, but not all of them agree if there is a ‘safe’ level of alcohol intake. Most studies have examined the effects of heavy drinking (meaning more than five drinks a day). Few have looked at the effects, if any, of limited (like one or two drinks once or twice a week) intake. Some of the researchers have suggested that the severe effects of heavy drinking are one end of a continuum of outcomes, and that any drinking may have adverse effects. Other researchers have suggested that there has not been enough research into light drinking in pregnancy to draw any hard conclusions.

However, there is no doubt that heavy drinking is likely to increase the chances of a baby being born with ‘foetal alcohol syndrome’. This is a condition in which the baby is smaller than average, has some degree of mental retardation, and typical facial features. It has been suggested that frequent heavy binge-drinking may also be associated with this condition.

Caution should be exercised regarding eating, drinking, smoking, or taking any excess chemical (alcohol, cigarettes, legal or illegal drugs and medications) particularly in the first trimester of the pregnancy. This is when the embryo foetus is relatively smaller, and may be more affected by a particular dose of chemicals than later in its development. It is also a time of laying down foundations of organ development, so any chemicals which could have an adverse effect on a particular system, like alcohol has on the nervous system, may have more of an effect in the very early stages of pregnancy than later, when the system is more fully developed. So, particularly in the first trimester, avoiding alcohol altogether may be suggested.

Women have sometimes expressed concern to me that they may have had a ‘big night’ when they drank more than usual, before they actually knew they were pregnant. This is not uncommon, and there seems to be no obvious harm to the pregnancy if it is only a ‘once off, as distinct from a regular pattern of behavior.

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