Abstract
Nearly half of all pregnant women in the Western world drink prior to recognising pregnancy. The current study aimed to investigate the factors associated with drinking prior to recognising pregnancy among pregnant women and factors associated with risky drinking among nonpregnant sexually active women. The study was a cross-sectional survey of a random sample of women aged 18 to 35 years (n = 1062) selected from the New Zealand electoral roll. Pregnant women (currently pregnant: n = 65; previously pregnant: n = 202) who were risky drinkers and who smoked in the year prior to pregnancy had five times the odds (p < 0.01) and women who planned their pregnancy (p = 0.05) and who used a community service card (p = 0.004) had less than half the odds to drink prior to recognising pregnancy than their respective counterparts. Among sexually active nonpregnant women who consumed alcohol, those who smoked in the year prior to the survey and those who drank for social reasons, for mood enhancement or coping reasons had higher odds of being risky drinkers (p < 0.05). Addressing risky drinking, especially in social settings, and smoking among women of peak childbearing age may mitigate the potential risk of drinking prior to recognising pregnancy.
Highlights
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a consequence of maternal drinking is prevalent in3–5% of children in the United States [1] and in about 8 per 1000 children and youth on average globally [2]
The findings from the New Zealand Alcohol in Pregnancy Study, a national cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of women aged 16 to 40 years showed that the majority of women who drank in pregnancy (~50%) stopped drinking on pregnancy recognition (77% of those who drank any alcohol during pregnancy) but prior to pregnancy recognition drank heavily [3]
The findings indicate that women of Asian ethnicity had lower odds of being risky drinkers in comparison to New Zealand European women (OR = 0.08; 95% CI (0.03, 0.25); p < 0.001)
Summary
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a consequence of maternal drinking is prevalent in3–5% of children in the United States [1] and in about 8 per 1000 children and youth on average globally [2]. Given that early pregnancy is a vulnerable period for alcohol teratogenicity [5], current government guidelines in countries such as New Zealand [6], Australia [7], Canada [8], USA [9] and the UK [10] include a recommendation of abstinence when planning a pregnancy or thinking one could become pregnant. Despite these guidelines, drinking in the period prior to recognising pregnancy is widely prevalent. Similar levels of drinking in early pregnancy have been reported in the US (45%) [4] and Canada (50%) [11] but
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