One Out of Thirteen Pregnant Women Are Boozing It Up
According to a CDC study, which I am very qualified to interpret, one out of thirteen pregnant women are boozing it up. And out of that group of lushes, one in five are getting hammered, which the CDC not-so-euphemistically describes as binge drinking (or having four or more drinks in two hours).
The older (14% of pregnant women aged 35-44), better educated (10% of pregnant college graduates), whiter (8% of white pregnant women) and more employed (almost 10% of employed pregnant women) you are, the more likely you are to drink.
The group least likely to drink are the young-uns, or the pregnant 18-24 year-olds, but they shouldn't go getting too proud yet since they're also the age group most likely to binge drink. And being an employed and pregnant must be tough since that group is two and a half times more likely to binge drink than your average pregnant woman.
The CDC notes that there is "no known safe amount of alcohol or safe time to drink while pregnant." Also:
The CDC says drinking while pregnant may lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which include fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder, and alcohol-related birth defects. Fetal alcohol syndrome is considered the most severe end of the FASD-spectrum, and may lead to problems with learning, memory, vision or hearing. Drinking during pregnancy can also lead to fetal death.
Far be it from me to criticize anyone having a drink now and again or everyday/morning, but maybe wait out those nine months if you're pregnant? Of course, there might be way more drunk soon-to-be moms out there:
The authors acknowledge study limitations, such as the data being self-reported and subject to biases, which can lead to understimates.
So basically, all pregnant women are probably drunk right now.
