5 Pregnancy Taboos Explained (or Debunked)
Thursday, September 30th, 2010How much alcohol is safe to drink during pregnancy? The global consensus is none. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urge women who are pregnant not to drink a single drop.
Since we don’t need alcohol to live, why court disaster? Drinking alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk for miscarriage and premature birth, and some studies have suggested that binge drinking may be associated with an increased risk of stillbirth. Heavy drinking has also been associated with fetal alcohol syndrome, whose symptoms can include malformed facial features, low IQ, mental retardation, poor coordination, aggressive behavior and other problems.Texas Health Insurance
Observational studies have also linked drinking during pregnancy to a small uptick in a rare childhood leukemia, lowered sperm counts in baby boys and certain epigenetic changes in mice.
And yet many women continue to drink. A recent government survey found that 1 out of 12 American women drink while pregnant, and numbers elsewhere are even more surprising: the Swedish National Institute of Public Health reports that 30% of Swedish women drink throughout pregnancy, while 60% of Russian women report drinking at least once after finding out they are pregnant. The health agencies of many European countries discourage any drinking during pregnancy, but some government health statements like those of Switzerland and the U.K. include a caveat such as “but if you are going to drink, you should limit yourself to one drink per day and not every day.”Texas Health Insurance
While the dangers of heavy drinking and binge drinking are well-established, what about the occasional, not-every-day drink? The truth is that the bulk of the research doesn’t really deal with occasional drinking — it looks mostly at heavy drinking or no alcohol at all. But, again, the World Health Organization says no to booze. It contends that even low dose alcohol exposure (1 to 4 glasses of wine per week) can lead to developmental delays in the fetus, which result in cognitive and socio-emotional deficits that become most pronounced between the ages of 3 and 5.
This data is discouraging to many pregnant women, who feel that it is already difficult enough to live with all the restrictions put on them by modern medicine. In a New York Times article on the subject, Dr. Ernest L. Abel, an obstetrician-gynecologist and professor at Wayne State University Medical School in Detroit, said:
“Blood alcohol level is the key,” said Dr. Abel, whose view, after 30 years of research, is that brain damage and other alcohol-related problems most likely result from the spikes in blood alcohol concentration that come from binge drinking — another difficult definition, since according to Dr. Abel a binge can be as few as two drinks, drunk in rapid succession, or as many as 14, depending on a woman’s physiology.
Because of ethical considerations, virtually no clinical trials can be performed on pregnant women.
“Part of the research problem is that we have mostly animal studies to work with,” Dr. Abel said. “And who knows what is two drinks, for a mouse?” Texas Health Insurance
Caffeine and its most popular delivery system, coffee, have been a source of controversy within the obstetrics community for ages. We know that caffeine crosses the placenta and can increase the heart and breathing rate of the fetus. But we don’t know whether that is ultimately harmful to the child’s health. Similar to studies of alcohol, most research on coffee consumption in pregnancy has focused on extremes — eight cups a day or nothing.
But there is one cause for concern: caffeine can reduce iron absorption in the mother, which could theoretically lead to anemia. Since pregnant women are prone to anemia to begin with, this could lead to ill effects, such as dizziness, fatigue or even irregular heart beat. Texas Health Insurance
One important 2008 study in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that consuming more than 200 mg of caffeine (about 10 ounces of coffee) per day doubled the risk of miscarriage in women with an average of 71 days of gestation compared with those who abstained from caffeine.
Another retrospective study involving women who were pregnant during the 1960s found that increased caffeine consumption was related to cryptorchidism (undescended testes) in baby boys, even when other factors like drinking, smoking and chemical exposure were accounted for. Texas Health Insurance
Given the lack of replicated studies, however, most experts and the March of Dimes recommend moderation rather than abstinence.
Aversion to hot baths traces back to data from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) on the effects of raised body temperature on the development of a fetus, especially during the first trimester.
When a mother has a fever higher than 102.2 degrees F, it can cause a drop in heart rate, which decreases oxygen to the fetus. Bouts of high body temperature due to fever or from external sources can also increase the risk of miscarriage during the first six weeks of pregnancy. Texas Health Insurance
The main goal is to avoid raising your core temperature, says CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta. A hot bath, if not uncomfortable and scalding, is probably just fine. But hot tubs and saunas are best avoided.
Women who live in hot climates should take care not to overheat — stay indoors in air-conditioning, if the temperature spikes outside. As for women who want to continue exercising during pregnancy? Gupta says:
In general, exercising during pregnancy is very dependent on each individual. Some people are able to continue their usual level of activity throughout most if not all of their pregnancy, while others are sensitive to any exertion that raises their heart rate. Keep in mind that if you experience symptoms such as lightheadedness, fainting, a rapid heart rate that doesn’t slow back down or dehydration — no matter how gentle your activities may be or how great shape you are in — it’s important to rest and contact your doctor or midwife if needed. Above all else, listen to your body while exercising both during your pregnancy and beyond. Texas Health Insurance
Getting a color treatment at the salon may raise a few eyebrows, but experts rule this one relatively safe.
One study has recorded adverse effects: a 2005 study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health found a moderate link between a mother’s use of hair dye anytime in the month before or during pregnancy and an elevated risk of neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer, in her offspring.
Researchers still don’t know why the dye may be linked with cancer, and need to study it further. Temporary dye was more closely linked with cancer risk than permanent dye, possibly because it is usually applied more often. Texas Health Insurance
Nevertheless, the American Pregnancy Association reasons that hair dye should not be a concern because such a small amount of dye comes into contact with a mother’s skin and thus gets absorbed into the bloodstream.
A report in the journal American Family Physician, however, suggests avoiding dyes in early pregnancy.
Certain health conditions that appear during pregnancy may complicate the risks of air travel, which are different for every woman. For example, hypertension during pregnancy (known as preeclampsia) may increase the risk of blood clots, which may further exacerbate risks of frequent long-distance flying — being in a confined or cramped space for long periods of time is associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis. Texas Health Insurance
The notion that a plane flight can lead to miscarriage, however, is misleading. That association comes from a 1999 study of pregnant flight attendants published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, which found that the air workers had a slightly elevated risk of miscarriage during the first trimester, compared with flight attendants who took time off upon learning they were pregnant. But the overall conclusion of the paper was that the rate of pregnancy complications among the flight attendants was low and that their miscarriage rate could have been caused by job stress as easily as any other factor.
Many doctors restrict flying at 36 weeks, but this has less to do with health risk than it does with labor risk: they simply don’t want you to go into labor aboard an aircraft. Depending on where you are traveling to, maternal health care may also be limited or of poor quality.
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