Stupid CNN - pregnant women drinking too much

[WanderingWinoZ]

DH say this article this morning & I got a lecture....

IT's flash based so I can't C&P.


www.cnn.com/2015/09/24/health/gallery/new-studies-results-are-in/index.html


It says "Pregnant women are imbibing & it's not just innocent drinks" with 2 phrases in there linked to other articles- both of which state NOTHING about alcohol &pregnancy.

Goes on to talk about new study- 
New CDC study: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6437a3.htm?s_cid=mm6437a3_e 

Otherwise it says 1 in 10 pregnant women drink.  (ok, not surprising)

1/3 of those (or 1 in 30?) pregnant women reported binge drinking (more than 4 drinks).

[Cicero]

I am getting kicked in the cervix on the regular. You can pry my weekly glass of wine out of my cold dead hands.

[emisi]

Ugh. Binge drinking is bad, but I see this article as more infantilization of women and yet more attempts to control us because we're just walking wombs. ANY AMOUNT is bad? No. Studies have shown that small amounts later in pregnancy are FINE. Yeah, I agree that women shouldn't be binge drinking while pregnant, but really.  The CDC article itself says: 

To estimate current prevalences of any alcohol use and binge drinking (consuming four or more drinks on an occasion) among pregnant and nonpregnant women aged 18–44 years in the United States, CDC analyzed 2011–2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. Among pregnant women, the prevalences of any alcohol use and binge drinking in the past 30 days were 10.2% and 3.1%, respectively. Among nonpregnant women, the prevalences of any alcohol use and binge drinking in the past 30 days were 53.6% and 18.2%, respectively. Among binge drinkers, pregnant women reported a significantly higher frequency of binge drinking than nonpregnant women (4.6 and 3.1 episodes, respectively); the largest amount consumed during binge drinking was also higher among pregnant women than nonpregnant women (7.5 versus 6.0 drinks), although this difference was not statistically significant.

And also

Among nonpregnant women, the prevalence of any alcohol use was 53.6% and the prevalence of binge drinking was 18.2% (Table 1). Among pregnant women, the prevalence of any alcohol use was 10.2% and the prevalence of binge drinking was 3.1%

So... if I'm reading that right, women who regularly ALREADY binge drink drank a lot during pregnancy still, but among ALL women, it's 3.1%.  So that article is wrong.  Nice job CNN.

[msmerymac]

It also doesn't say where the women are in pregnancy. I know women who have discovered a pregnancy, planned an abortion, and continued to drink all the while. Because... well, why not?

[debatethis]

Anecdote alert: I had three WEEKS of labor. A tiny glass of red wine and a hot bath were the only things that quieted down my contractions and helped me sleep. CNN can shove off.

[sushi]

More recent studies have shown that small amounts even early in pregnancy had no effect.

[gibbinator]

Well if you consider the fact that your pregnancy time line starts a month before you actually know you're pregnant (and possibly you're even further along if it's a surprise), I'm not surprised by even the binge drinking statistics.

[Deleted]

Drinking while pregnant, like not getting circumcised and ADD, is DEADLY.


In America.

[water*drop]

Sept 26, 2015 6:59:13 GMT -5 gibbinator said:

Well if you consider the fact that your pregnancy time line starts a month before you actually know you're pregnant (and possibly you're even further along if it's a surprise), I'm not surprised by even the binge drinking statistics.

Yes. Like I said on MMM, this study made me crazy because they include the 2WW drinkers in the pregnant binge drinker category (AND they said that one of the limitations of their study is that some of the people who they categorized as not pregnant binge drinkers probably were actually pregnant at the time of questioning and didn't know it yet, so the 2WWers were definitely included intentionally). I get that the CDC might count drinking during the 2WW as awful, but given the current state of women's reproductive issues in the US, I would really like those numbers broken down further before the media is all "OMG!!!! We need to FIX THIS!"

[earlgreyhot]

I didn't read the article but it looks like a sensationalistic fearmongering based on bad, incomplete science.

Determining whether (caffeine, alcohol, Tylenol, microwaved plastic, formula, antidepressants, whatever) your kid's mild issue vs an inherited trait or personality is really counter productive. And also places too much burden and stress on women.

It would be nice if journalists provided a risk assessment. Or a reminder there are still so many things out of our control that light and occasional use is fine.

[pinkdutchtulips]

i still don't regret the 2 sam adams cherry wheat beers and 2 lg glasses of wine i had in my 2nd & 3rd tri w/ dd .... nope.

America has a problem w/ moderation - we're an all or nothing kind of place. naturally, this means OBs have to needlessly scare the hell out of pg women that even ONE TEENY SIP of alcohol will damage their fetus permanently !!

its like what an old neighbor of mine whose bff's dad was an OB once told me .. if alcohol was truly bad for pg women then almost all of Italy and France would be retarded (and i hate using that word, feel free to put your own word in ...)