Ireland has highest alcohol consumption during pregnancy
Alcohol use during pregnancy is “prevalent and socially pervasive” in Ireland and the UK, health experts have warned after carrying out a large-scale study.
Women across all socio-demographic groups were likely to drink – but those who smoked were up to 50% more likely to consume alcohol while pregnant, research led by the University of Cambridge found.
Researchers described the widespread consumption of even low levels of alcohol during pregnancy as a “significant public health concern”.
Their analysis of almost 18,000 women in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia found drinking during pregnancy was commonplace in all four countries, ranging from 20% to 80% in Ireland and from 40% upwards in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Ireland had the highest prevalence of any alcohol consumption pre-pregnancy (90%) and during pregnancy (82%), and the highest reported binge consumption before (59%) and during (45%) pregnancy.
Habits and guidelines
The amount of alcohol consumed dropped substantially for all countries in the second trimester, along with the level of binge drinking.
Non-white women were less likely to drink, along with younger women, those who were more highly educated, obese or already had children.
Researchers said the findings show there is low adherence to alcohol guidelines advising complete abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy in Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.
Although most women who drink during pregnancy do so at low levels, those who drink heavily are putting their unborn baby at risk of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which affects their physical and mental development.
The team added that since most women who consume alcohol do so at lower levels, where the effects on the foetus are less well understood, the “widespread consumption of even low levels of alcohol during pregnancy is a significant public health concern”.
Their analysis did not include women who miscarried or who had stillborn babies - and they said this meant they could have excluded the heaviest drinkers of all, and participants may also be more advantaged than the general population, which could have affected the results.
“The findings of this study have direct application to policy and practice,” the study authors concluded.
“Although low proportions of women engaged in heavy drinking, the adverse consequences of heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy on birth outcomes, long-term gross motor function, and social, cognitive, emotional and behavioural outcomes in offspring make heavy gestational alcohol consumption a high public health priority.
“Additionally, since most women who consume alcohol do so at lower levels where the offspring growth and development effects are less well understood, the widespread consumption of even low levels of alcohol during pregnancy is a significant public health concern.”
They added that healthcare professionals should advise pregnant women to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy, while dual targeting of smoking and alcohol consumption should potentially be increased.
“New policy and interventions are also required to reduce alcohol prevalence both prior to and during pregnancy,” they added.
