What is it about?
Using a retrospective alcohol diary, our twin-site study of 510 pregnant women found that those in more affluent areas were more likely to drink heavily around the time of conception. While there is evidence that the greatest harm from alcohol is found in the most deprived areas, the picture is complex. Assumptions and stereotypes about who drinks, when and how much need to be challenged.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
People sometimes make assumptions about who the ‘problem-drinkers’ are. Our study found that women with the highest deprivation scores drank on average less than those with the lowest deprivation scores. Women in the area with higher overall deprivation levels were more likely to drink leading up to the time of conception / pregnancy recognition, but women in the lower deprivation area were more likely to drink every week and to ‘binge drink’ (exceed six units daily) at least once each week. Heavy pre-pregnancy drinking is associated with continuing to drink during pregnancy, and the possibility of fetal alcohol syndrome / spectrum disorder must be considered.
Perspectives
It is essential to elicit a detailed alcohol history at the antenatal booking visit, and not simply establish whether the woman is currently drinking. Heavy episodic and frequent consumption was more common in the lower deprivation area, in contrast with general population data, which suggests that we need to challenge assumptions about who is more likely to drink, and to drink heavily.
Dr Andrew Symon
University of Dundee
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Peri-Conceptual and Mid-Pregnancy Alcohol Consumption: A Comparison between Areas of High and Low Deprivation in Scotland, Birth, September 2016, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/birt.12252.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
