3.3 million women risking alcohol-exposed pregnancies — CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sparked fierce anger online Tuesday after it suggested sexually active young women should avoid drinking alcohol if they aren’t using birth control. “We know alcohol use during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) which are physical, behavioral and intellectual, disabilities that last a lifetime”, she said.

“The risk is real”, said CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat. Women may not even know they are pregnant for about the first month of their pregnancy, and about half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, so there is a good chance a fetus may be unknowingly exposed to alcohol in the first month.

The agency is advising that women between 15 and 44 years old drink no alcohol at all if they are trying to get pregnant or could become pregnant.

Five levels of disorder fall within the spectrum: the milder fetal alcohol effects, then alcohol related birth defects, alcohol related neurodevelopmental disorder, partial fetal alcohol syndrome and the most severe, fetal alcohol syndrome. Even 3 in 4 women who stop using birth control with the intention of becoming pregnant do not stop drinking alcohol right away.

But the CDC warns that the risks are too high, especially given that most women don’t know they are pregnant until they are four to six weeks along.

Women: Think twice before ordering that drink, the CDC says.

But when it took to Facebook to share its recommendation that women not on birth control avoid alcohol, it encountered a storm of intense hostility from users who accused the government of trying to control their bodies. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends women abstain completely from alcohol while pregnant. As such, it’s highly likely that the mothers had no idea that they were putting their fetuses at risk. As a response, they need to be aware of the consequences and disabilities than can occur to their babies if they drink alcohol.

However, the latest CDC report is pointing a finger not just at those expectant women who knowingly drink, but also at those who don’t yet realize they’ve conceived. Here, the rates are influenced by socio-economic factors with drinking during pregnancy more common among deprived communities, with poor educational backgrounds and living conditions. All of these problems can lead to mental illness, substance abuse and other lifelong problems.

“It’s not a question of how many drinks, it’s any drinks”, Schuchat said. ACOG thanks the CDC for this important report, which will help to raise awareness of the risk associated with any use of alcohol during pregnancy.