New Link Between Alcohol
and Miscarriage Found
Fri Feb
8,11:00 AM ET
By Colette Bouchez
HealthScoutNews
Reporter
FRIDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthScoutNews) -- In what has become a growing collection of
evidence showing that drinking and pregnancy don't mix, a new Danish study
finds even moderate amounts of alcohol can increase a woman's risk of
miscarriage, particularly during the first trimester.
|
|
|
The research, which appears in the current issue of Alcohol and
Alcoholism, underscores what doctors have believed for a long time -- that
alcohol has toxic effects on the baby, especially at the earliest stages of
development.
"It's been fairly well-publicized that there is an association with cigarette
smoking and miscarriage, so it doesn't surprise me that the same thing can now
be said of alcohol," says high-risk pregnancy expert Dr. Charles Lockwood.
From what is known about how and why miscarriage occurs, alcohol is a likely
suspect, says Lockwood, the director of obstetrics and gynecology at Bellevue
Medical Center in New York City, who was not part of the study.
"Most pregnancy losses that occur before 10 weeks are due to
chromosomal abnormalities, and they, in turn, seem to be due to abnormalities
in the cytoplasm of the egg," Lockwoodm adds. Cytopolasm is the material
that cushions the actual egg inside its fragile enclosure.
"Any toxin, anything that can affect [egg] quality, will increase the
risk of miscarriage -- and alcohol is one of those toxins," Lockwood says.
Interestingly, while previous studies found links between alcohol use and
pregnancy loss in the second trimester, the new research found the opposite:
Drinking during the second trimester did not increase the risk of loss, although
the first trimester was particularly perilous.
However, Lockwood stresses women should always think twice before they belly
up to the bar during pregnancy, since miscarriage is only one of many problems
caused by alcohol.
"The risk of having a baby with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is
significant in all women who drink regularly during pregnancy, any time during
the pregnancy," he says.
FAS is a disorder characterized by retardation, facial abnormalities and
central nervous system dysfunction. In 1991, a study in the Journal of The
American Medical Association found FAS is the leading cause of mental
retardation.
Despite a barrage of studies linking alcohol to pregnancy complications, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported the rate of
frequent drinking among pregnant women increased fourfold between 1991 and
1995. Newer studies show more pregnant women are drinking and smoking
than ever before.
The Danish study was one of the largest to date, involving almost 25,000
singleton pregnancies between 1989 and 1996.
After analyzing data on each pregnancy -- including the mother's admission
of alcohol consumption -- the researchers concluded that five drinks a week
seemed to be the point at which the risk of pregnancy loss took a noticeable
jump.
Those risks, however, dropped back down to normal during the second and
third trimester -- even though the women continued to drink the same amount of
alcohol.
The researchers believe alcohol consumption during pregnancy is widely
underreported -- with many women experiencing early miscarriages as a result of
drinking, sometimes before they even know they are pregnant.
As Lockwood puts it: "The take-home message here is simple: If you are
pregnant, or trying to get pregnant, reduce your alcohol intake as much as
possible."
What To Do
To learn more about the causes of miscarriage and possible treatment
options, visit The
March of Dimes.
You can also stop by The Baby Center for more information.
For more information on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome visit the FAS Community Resource Center.