Running head: THE UNITED KINGDOM AND DRINKING DURING PREGNANCIES
The United Kingdom and Drinking during Pregnancies
Leatriana Pope
Jul 18, 2007
The United Kingdom and Drinking during Pregnancies
Mumsnet is a web page that gives mothers a forum to discuss life, children, and family. The women there often offer a fresh perspective to life and are blunt about their opinions on various issues. Social politeness that prevents American women from expressing themselves is forgone on this site. It was here that I first started to understand that there were vast differences in lifestyles between the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US).
I began to pick up on the fact that many of the women on the site used alcohol during their pregnancies and believed that it was healthy in moderation. I started the thread of all threads in hopes of discovering more. I will admit, I was hoping to spread the concept that alcohol during pregnancies was not acceptable. Never, have I seen such a frenzied attack on a person in my life. My character, my intelligence, my country, my children, and so much more was dissected, insulted, and considered not up to par. The women did not want to hear that drinking alcohol during pregnancies was unhealthy. The only information they were interested in was information that told them it was ?safe? to drink.
The ladies were referred to several web-sites that indicated that some early research indicates that alcohol even in small amounts could cause developmental and cognitive problems. Then the integrity of those web-sites was attacked. The March of Dimes was called ?a right wing anti-abortionists? group. A article in medical news today, was suspect because the doctor worked for an awareness group, ?Dr Raja Mukherjee spoke at the Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Aware UK Syndrome Conference, London, UK? and the about.com article was ?irresponsible? because they recommend pregnant women who are drinking to stop immediately. However, the women had a very reliable source they could depend on in Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (RCOG). ?There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting harm to the fetus from alcohol consumption during pregnancy. While the safest approach may be to avoid any alcohol intake during pregnancy, it remains the case that there is no evidence of harm from low levels of alcohol consumption, defined as no more than one or two units of alcohol once or twice a week (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist [RCOG], 2006).? However, it appears that RCOG stands alone in their approach that the consumption of mild alcohol consumption is acceptable during pregnancy.
The Center for Disease control and prevention recommends that women abstain from drinking alcohol during pregnancy. They state there is no safe amount or time to consumer alcohol during pregnancies(Center for Disease Control [CDC], May ). The United States Surgeon General advises women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant to abstain for drinking alcohol, ?It is now clear that no amount of alcohol can be considered safe.(United States Surgeon General [USSG], 2005)? MayoClinic advises, ?Stop drinking alcohol altogether if you're planning to become pregnant, as soon as you know you're pregnant or if you even think you might be pregnant. Your baby's brain, heart and blood vessels begin to develop in the early weeks of pregnancy.(Mayo Clinic [MC], May )? The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist recommend that women do not drink, advising women that doctors do not know how much alcohol it takes to harm a fetus(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist [ACOG], ).
There are clear differences between the UK and US policy on drinking during pregnancy. The more research done, the more indications there are that many affects of alcohol are not as visible. Children who struggle in school, or have learning disabilities can be the result of a drinking parent. How can we differentiate between nature and nurture? Ideally women would abstain from alcohol during pregnancy but that is just not realistic. In United Kingdom it appears to be socially acceptable to drink during pregnancy, despite the known risk and the fact that there is no medical benefit to drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Many women indicated midwives even advised them to have a unit of wine a few nights a week to help them relax. Most women on the mumsnet web-site stated that they drank very mildly to moderately, however, a few proudly declared they drank every night. While any suggestion that drinking mildly to moderately during pregnancy could be harmful to a fetus and that women should abstain during pregnancy was viciously attacked. No one appeared upset when mothers proudly announced that they drank more than the recommended amount by the ROCG.
I am left to ponder is this just another difference between the two countries or is it a serious problem. Are tens of thousand of doctors and organizations, unnecessarily, denying women the joy of a relaxing glass of wine? Or is ROCG lulling women into a false sense of security? There are a lot of unknowns but a few things are known. Alcohol that a woman consumes during pregnancy passes from her blood into the blood of the unborn fetus, and the fetus is still developing its liver and so it does not have the same ability to get rid of the alcohol. Heavy consumption of alcohol can lead to a wide variety of health issues including fetal alcohol syndrome(FAS).
One of the mumsnetters valiantly declared that she was not a walking womb. She is a human being with many facets to her and the ability to make decisions about what is best for her and her unborn. I found this statement powerful but still I wondered, if the UK put the same efforts into educating, encouraging, and supporting women not to drink during pregnancy, as they do for breastfeeding after birth, would these women feel the same. It would appear to me that while drinking during pregnancy is socially acceptable in the UK, bottle feeding your baby is not.
References
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (). Alcohol and Pregnancy. Retrieved July 18, 2007, from www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp132.cfm
Center for Disease Control (May , May 31, 2007). Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Retrieved July 18, 2007, from www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fas/default.htm
Mayo Clinic (May , May 23, 2007). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Retrieved July 18, 2007, from www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-alcohol-syndrome/DS00184/DSECTION=8
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist (2006, March 2006). Alcohol Comsuption and the Outcomes of Pregnancy. Retrieved July 18, 2007, from www.rcog.org.uk/resources/public/pdf/alcohol_pregnancy_rcog_statement5a.pdf
United States Surgeon General (2005, February 21, 2005). U.S. Surgeon General Releases Advisory on Alcohol Use in Pregnancy. Retrieved July 18, 2007, from www.surgeongeneral.gov/pressreleases/sg02222005.html