We’ll walk you through a study on wine consumption during pregnancy, and the choice is yours. Before we get to the experts, you must remember that the most important thing is to observe moderation in everything. Whether one glass will affect the pregnancy of a completely healthy woman – no, should you drink bottles of wine during pregnancy – absolutely definitely not. Most experts agree that balance is the most important thing. If you eat right, get enough rest, you can drink one or two glasses of wine and stop there, then you will be fine. If you have a difficult pregnancy and health problems, drinking wine is not a good idea.
Facts
We know that excessive alcohol consumption during pregnancy can cause fetal malformations. But experts cannot agree on what constitutes “excessive” alcohol consumption and therefore completely banned alcohol during pregnancy. A recent study in Denmark indicates that a couple of glasses of wine can have a positive impact on a child’s mental development. The following is a quote from the discussion of the study:
Jani Niclasen analyzed data from the Danish National Register of Mothers, which compiled data on 37,000 women between 1996 and 2002. The women completed the survey three times, at different times, and when their children reached the age of seven, the children completed a survey to assess their emotions and relationships.
Moms who drank wine in moderation did everything else right: they exercised or exercised regularly, ate better, watched small amounts of TV, their weight and height were normal, and they were more educated.
Professor Niklasen was surprised by her discovery: Children whose mothers drank alcohol in moderation, about 90 units of alcohol during pregnancy (about two glasses a week), performed better than children whose mothers did not drink alcohol at all.
“Non-drinking mothers had the worst scores on all criteria. They were less educated, smoked more, did not exercise and watched a lot of TV,” the professor said.
Moms who drank wine in moderation did everything else right: they exercised or exercised regularly, ate better, watched small amounts of TV, their weight and height were normal, and they were more educated. Given the factors mentioned above, which undoubtedly have a large impact on the development of the child, Niklasen realized that moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy also has a small but positive effect on the development of the child. “
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This discovery sparked a lot of discussion. Jani Niklasen’s full study and other publications on pregnancy and child development are available here. The study was cited numerous times in the media because the study’s findings dispelled some rumors about wine consumption during pregnancy.
This is not the only study indicating that drinking a glass of wine during pregnancy does not have a negative effect on babies. The University of Bristol conducted a study of 7,000 ten-year-olds whose mothers admitted to drinking wine during pregnancy to test their sense of balance. According to the research results:
“Low to moderate alcohol consumption does not affect a child’s sense of balance,” said Professor John Macleod of the University of Bristol’s School of Social and Community Medicine. The full results of the study are available here.
Other factors
We know that excessive alcohol consumption during pregnancy is strictly prohibited, but in order to understand if you can drink a glass of wine, the following factors should be considered:
- Week of pregnancy
- General health
- Alcohol consumption (pre-pregnancy)
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The first trimester of pregnancy is the most important stage, so at this time you should forget about wine and alcohol altogether. The closer the day of birth is, the more likely it is that one or two glasses of wine will not have a negative impact. In fact, wine can help you relax in the later stages of pregnancy, which will have a positive impact on the development of your baby. Also, in order to answer the question about wine, it is very important to consider your overall health. In case you suffer from any diseases or you have such health problems as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., you should refrain from drinking alcohol. If before pregnancy you drank a couple of glasses of wine every night, then your body has a slight tolerance for wine, but if you did not drink wine before pregnancy, then you certainly should not start during pregnancy.
Your doctor will most likely be against wine during pregnancy as well, but the reason for this is because doctors fear that some mothers might take permission to drink one glass of wine as permission to drink large quantities of alcohol. If you follow common sense and drink no more than one or two glasses a week, you and your child will be fine.
In many countries, such as Italy, Spain and France, where wine is considered the drink of life, drinking wine during pregnancy is even encouraged because wine is believed to be good for the blood. Studies have shown that in cultures with a high consumption of wine, the number of children with congenital malformations is not higher than in cultures that do not drink wine.
Read the information and make the choice that suits your lifestyle and your beliefs. We, in turn, advise in absolutely all cases to consult with your doctor.
