Can You Drink Alcohol While Pregnant?

As soon as you found out you were pregnant, one of the first things you may have wondered is whether you need to change your drink order. Especially if you’ve heard of moms who drank a glass of wine here and there (or even nightly) during pregnancy and delivered perfectly healthy babies.

Unfortunately, drinking any alcohol while you’re pregnant is not considered safe. In fact, the Surgeon General, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) all advise that no amount of alcohol is safe for pregnant women to drink. 

Although about 1 in 9 expecting moms in the United States say they’ve had an alcoholic drink within the last 30 days, according to the CDC, there’s strong research supporting the recommendation to abstain from drinking completely while pregnant. Ultimately, that means it’s prudent to pass up any alcohol for the duration of your pregnancy (though you can certainly ask your own practitioner for his or her advice).

The risks of light or moderate drinking while pregnant

Why such a strong edict from the medical community? It’s to be on the safe side when you have a baby on board.

There is no known safe limit when it comes to alcohol consumption during pregnancy (or whether that limit would be different in different women). Alcohol enters both your bloodstream and your baby’s bloodstream at the same concentration, where it can interfere with the development of critical organs, structures and systems. 

In other words, a pregnant woman never drinks alone. It doesn’t matter whether she’s sipping on wine or whiskey: She shares each glass of wine, each beer, each cocktail equally with her baby. What’s more, it can take the fetus twice as long as the mother to eliminate the alcohol from its system.

The risks of continued drinking are definitely dose-related: The more you drink, the more potential danger to your baby. But even moderate consumption of alcohol during pregnancy (defined by the CDC as one drink daily for women) is related to a variety of serious problems, including increased risk of:

• Miscarriage
• Preterm labor
• Stillbirth
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Drinking while pregnant also creates the possibility of:  

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), which are characterized by physical, behavioral and mental issues
• Developmental problems in childhood
• Behavioral, attention and memory problems and learning disabilities later in childhood

The risks of heavy drinking while pregnant

Heavy drinking (defined by the CDC as as eight or more drinks per week for women) and especially binge drinking (four or more alcoholic drinks at a time) during pregnancy can result not only in many serious obstetrical complications but also fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), the most severe of the FASDs. 

This condition results in infants who are often born undersized and mentally deficient with multiple deformities (particularly of the head, face, limbs and heart) and underdevelopment of the central nervous system.

Later in life, babies with FASDs may be more likely to display vision, hearing, learning, behavioral and social problems. They’re also more likely to suffer from mental disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, sleep disorders and anxiety, and they're more likely to end up with a drug or alcohol problem of their own.

Bottom line: The sooner you take alcoholic drinks off the menu when you’re pregnant, the less risk there will be to your baby.

Drinking alcohol before you know you’re pregnant

When you start trying to conceive is the best time to stop drinking, but many women don’t realize that they’re pregnant right away. During those first few weeks, some may unwittingly indulge in a few drinks (or more). In fact, it’s one of the most common concerns brought to the first prenatal visit.

Don’t stress, however, if this happens to you. A couple of drinks a couple of times very early in pregnancy, when you didn’t even know you were pregnant, are unlikely to cause serious harm. When you do find out you’re expecting, you’ll know to steer clear of alcohol for the rest of your pregnancy.  

Tips for quitting drinking during pregnancy

Some women give up alcohol easily during pregnancy — especially if they develop an aversion to the taste and smell of booze.

For others, particularly those who are accustomed to unwinding with a cocktail at the end of the day or sipping a glass of wine with dinner, abstinence may require a concerted effort and may include a lifestyle change. If you find you’re among the latter, try these tips:

• If you drink to relax, try to find other ways to unwind like music, warm baths, massage, exercise, reading or even sex.
• Switch to non-alcoholic alternatives. Sparkling juices, pregnancy-safe mocktails and non-alcoholic beers can step in at the times you’d typically reach for an alcoholic drink. Serve them in the usual glasses (and with a garnish, if you’re feeling fancy), to help recreate the drinks that you’re missing.  
• See if your partner, family or friends are willing to join you on the wagon, at least while in your company. The ride will be considerably smoother! Or ask if a loved one can distract you with an alcohol-free activity (like a couple of episodes of your favorite Netflix show, or even just a quick phone call) at times you might be tempted to unwind with a drink, like Friday night after a long work week. 
• Ask for help from your practitioner if you’re having trouble giving up alcohol. Your doctor may be able to offer advice or refer you to a program that can help you quit, such as your local Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) chapter or a nearby substance abuse treatment facility. 

Your practitioner’s goal should always be to ensure you have the healthiest pregnancy possible. If you feel that your doctor is judging you instead of helping you, consider finding another health care provider who gives you the support you need to stay away from alcohol.