Drinking alcohol during occasions isn’t bad, especially when you’re drinking only in small amounts. However, women who drink alcohol and are sexually active at the same time can be a dangerous combination.
According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US, women who drink alcohol while sexually active can bring harm to her baby once she gets pregnant. Their studies have shown that about 75 percent (that means three out of four) women are still drinking alcohol even though they wanted for themselves to get pregnant. Due to that fact, the alcohol in their bodies had already harmed their babies before they even know that they’re already pregnant.
CDC’s Principal Deputy Director Anne Shuchat said that due to the fact that women usually don’t even know they’re already a month pregnant, they might still be drinking. When this happens there’s a risk for their babies to develop Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, which can lead to physical, intellectual or behavioral disabilities. The agency had further said that there’s no known safe amount of alcohol for pregnant women so it’s a very risky and dangerous move.
According to studies conducted by American Academy of Pediatrics, the odds of a child developing FASD increases up to 12 times when a mother drinks alcohol during the first trimester (1-3 months) of her pregnancy. Even if the drink is limited to a cup per day, the increased risk of infant retardation is still very high.
Therefore, the only advice that physicians can give to pregnant women is, “Don’t drink. Why risk it?”
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