Alcohol consumption during pregnancy poses health risks to babies

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If you think a tiny glass of celebratory champagne during your pregnancy won't have any effect on your baby, think again.

CNN reports that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued this warning: alcohol consumption in any amount exposes unborn babies to health risks. According to the group's report, alcohol exposes babies to a myriad of health risks.

Apart from being one of the major causes of preventable birth defects and mental disorders, the group's study found that drinking alcohol during pregnancy could lead to visual and hearing impairment among newborns, and increase their chances of developing heart, bone, spine, and kidney diseases. Eventually, these children are more likely to encounter problems with brain functions such as abstract reasoning, information processing, and have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Moreover, at no stage of the pregnancy could alcohol drinking be considered safe. Women who consumed alcohol during their first trimester were 12 times more likely to give birth to babies suffering from any of the above health conditions. The risk increases by as much as 65 times should women continue drinking alcohol during the entire duration of their pregnancy.

"There is no safe amount, no safe time, and no safe type of alcohol to drink during pregnancy. It's just not worth the risk," said Dr. Cheryl Tan, epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Contol and Prevention in the United States.

Previous medical studies have not seen any negative correlation between alcohol consumption and infant development. A 2010 research cited that pregnant women who drank one to two glasses of alcohol weekly gave birth to healthy babies; these children did not encounter any behavioral or intellectual development-related problems by the time they reached 5 years of age.

Three years later, another study reported that children of mothers who drank 3 to 7 glasses of alcohol weekly were able to complete balancing tasks with ease. To be able to balance is a sign of normal neurological development.

But medical experts insist that it's better to be safe than sorry. As the effects of alcohol may differ from one pregnant woman to the next, the course of action is to skip the wine and cocktails for the next 9 months.

"The research suggests that the smartest choice for women who are pregnant is to just abstain from alcohol completely," said AAP's Dr. Janet F. Williams, the lead author of the report. Surveys have revealed that as much as 8 percent of women in America have admitted to drinking alcohol while they were pregnant.