Reports that 1 pregnant woman in 3 in UK binge drink unconfirmed

Conclusion This study provides information on reported alcohol consumption among pregnant women in four different countries. The study’s strengths are the relatively large number of women assessed overall (over 17,000) and that at least some of the data was collected prospectively. The studies collected data on alcohol consumption in different ways – for example, in face-to-face interviews or by post – and interviews were carried out by either midwives or researchers. They also used different questions about alcohol consumption. This may mean that results are not directly comparable across the studies. The researchers were interested in whether, despite these different methods, there would be similar results across the studies. For example, the fact that women who smoked were more likely to report drinking alcohol in pregnancy across the studies suggests that this is more likely to be a reliable finding. The researchers note that: Their study included women who may be less disadvantaged than the general population, so results may not be as representative of more disadvantaged populations. They only included women whose baby was born alive. This excludes women who had a miscarriage, and therefore may exclude the heaviest drinkers, as heavy or chronic alcohol use in early pregnancy has been linked to increased miscarriage risk. It is difficult to assess people’s alcohol consumption, as it relies on people being truthful and accurate about how much they ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Pregnancy/child Source Type: news