To think WHO are trying to commit organisational suicide? They’ve said that women of childbearing age should not drink alcohol AT ALL.

[RickiTarr]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/16/accused-sexism-saying-women-childbearing-age-should-not-drink/

@fallfallfall

i don't see the problem? please explain it to me. nothing good happens with or from alcohol use. i'm a fun sponge the people who i've seen drink say and do stupid shit and marriages and families are slowly destroyed. it would be great if women took the lead on this. not to mention alcohol use is a the waste of money.

In your opinion.

I like a drink. Quite frankly it's not your business or anyone else's what I choose to do, as long as it's legal and causing no issues for anyone else.

Well I had my children quite young and won't be having any more. I am still technically of childbearing age sobwh

Oops, so where do I fit into their plan?
Not drunk, honest

FFS what man and his army wrote this.

No consideration.

What about men of all ages? Wouldn't want any negative effect on sperm count.

After all existence is purely about procreation, right?!

@fallfallfall

i don't see the problem? please explain it to me. nothing good happens with or from alcohol use. i'm a fun sponge the people who i've seen drink say and do stupid shit and marriages and families are slowly destroyed. it would be great if women took the lead on this. not to mention alcohol use is a the waste of money.

Out of interest @fallfallfall, What do you think is the sex ratio for people who "say and do stupid shit" while drinking. Which do you think is the majority sex whose drinking is "slowly destroying " marriage and families?

It would be interesting to know the world statistic on which sex has the most problematic drinking.

Funny they know what sex is when they want to control a single group.

Surprised WHO have released this.

Doing stupid shit?
Destroying marriages?

I don't think so. FGS.

@Waxonwaxoff0, health care costs are high for alcoholics, alcohol is the number 1 cause of liver disease then there’s the mental health side of drug and alcohol addiction.
I can easily see where the WHO is coming from.
It’s just not “a way of fun” or “way to relax” that needs to be passed down generation after generation.

You are being extremist. But most of us aren't alcoholics. And if you are you probably need MH support.

This affects all women. Not just the small part which are alcoholics.

@Waxonwaxoff0 'as long as it's legal an causing no issues to anyone'

No amount of alcohol consumption is harmless though. There are health implications and healthcare has to be funded by the taxpayer.

Women should not have been singled out of course. WHO are there to be kill joys really, but should have stated the risks to all groups in society respectively.

There’s very little doubt in my mind the issue is more of a male problem, especially violence while drunk but teaching other ways of coping and enjoying yourself without alcohol seems like a good plan.

[quote fallfallfall]@Waxonwaxoff0, health care costs are high for alcoholics, alcohol is the number 1 cause of liver disease then there’s the mental health side of drug and alcohol addiction.
I can easily see where the WHO is coming from.
It’s just not “a way of fun” or “way to relax” that needs to be passed down generation after generation.[/quote]
Most people who drink alcohol aren't alcoholics though.

[quote Gallowayan]@Waxonwaxoff0 'as long as it's legal an causing no issues to anyone'

No amount of alcohol consumption is harmless though. There are health implications and healthcare has to be funded by the taxpayer.

Women should not have been singled out of course. WHO are there to be kill joys really, but should have stated the risks to all groups in society respectively.[/quote]
My alcohol consumption causes no health issues and costs the taxpayer nothing. I don't know anyone who has health issues due to drinking alcohol when done in moderation.

Well if that doesn't drive women to identify as transmen I don't know what will!

I had my children young and was sterilised at 28. I’m in my 30s now I also hate sex and have been celibate for 7 years. I still wouldn’t be allowed a drink.

It sounds like something straight out of a dystopian story. I understand drinking causes a lot of problems but not for everyone. Plus where does it stop. Will they next be suggesting women of child bearing age shouldn’t eat any of the things that can be dangerous during pregnancy or have procedures like X-rays just in case?

You’re spectacularly missing the point that it is women - young women, of “childbearing age” - that are being targeted here.

You’re entitled to your opinion on alcohol, but if health is the concern then surely this applies to both sexes. I remember some years ago the same ideas were floated in the USA suggesting that all women in this age group should regard themselves as “pre-pregnant” and be advised to conduct themselves as if they were TTC: no alcohol or smoking, and avoid anything that might prove injurious to an embryo or foetus.

In other words, for potentially 40 years of your life, you’d be in Gilead. Fuck that.

It's late and I'm very tired, but I feel a whispery paranoia about this. Not that I'm concerned that it will have any traction here, but that the thing has been green-lit at several levels to get to this stage. How?

Yes I agree. Concerning.

@fallfallfall

There’s very little doubt in my mind the issue is more of a male problem, especially violence while drunk but teaching other ways of coping and enjoying yourself without alcohol seems like a good plan.

So why are they not included in the advice?

There’s not many topics I agree with Trump on, but the uselessness of the WHO is one of them.

Shouldn’t they also call out men?

‘New evidence has found a link between paternal alcohol consumption before conception and the chances of fetal birth defects. Fathers who drink alcohol regularly before conception are associated with greater chances of birth defects like congenital heart disease, limb anomalies, clefts, and digestive tract anomalies.’

www.healthline.com/health-news/how-the-drinking-habits-of-fathers-may-contribute-to-birth-defects-in-newborns

I just downloaded it and the 'women of childbearing age' part is still there - p.17 so you can't just read the abstract. I didn't drink when TTC and when pregnant. But to be told now that although I have no plan to conceive and am actively taking steps not to do so that I should not drink because I'm of childbearing age? But DH is fine? Fuck that paternalistic bollocks.

@SallySycamore

I presume what they're trying to say is "women who could become pregnant" shouldn't drink, but that isn't what they've written.

They haven't thought about women who are single, or having protected sex, or gay, or infertile etc.

I'm over 50 and could still "become" pregnant.

Even the way you've written it means no woman under at least 50 should drink at all. Nearly all women "could" become pregnant. Given rape, failure of contraceptive and other issues.

@alexdgr8

but what are the overall benefits versus risks of drinking alcohol at all, forget about the pregnancy issue. don't doctors think most people would benefit by drinking less.

@alexdgr8 but then shouldn't men be included in the no drinking list? Anyway grown ups can make their own decisions about drinking, that's what bodily autonomy and a free society are all about!

This is scary stuff.

Doesn’t surprise me. This is the same organisation that says breastfeeding for all women saves lives, based on studies done in countries where there’s no clean water for formula feeding. It’s the same ridiculous extrapolation of a circumstance to all women while rejecting their bodily autonomy.

TBH, I’m more on the side of the WHO than the Portman group.

"It is wrong to scaremonger in this irresponsible way and associate women's alcohol-related risks with those of children and pregnant people."

I think they may be onto something with their link between women and pregnant people...

I don’t think it’s wrong to note sex specific impacts of alcohol. I do wonder whether they also note the impact of drinking on male violence?