Study Finds No Birth Problems after Drinking

A new study suggests that moderate alcohol use in early pregnancy may not cause early birth or low birth weight for babies. But the authors say it’s still unclear whether any level of drinking during pregnancy can be defined as safe. The study included more than 5,600 women. They were interviewed between the 14th and 16th weeks of pregnancy. About 60% said they drank some amount of alcohol during pregnancy. This included only 5% who drank heavily. This was defined as more than 14 drinks a week. About 20% had 1 or 2 drinks a week. About 25% had 3 to 7 drinks and 10% had 8 to 14 drinks per week. More than one-third of all the women had 6 or more drinks in a single session before becoming pregnant. In this study, that was defined as binge drinking. Nearly one-quarter of the same women also binged during pregnancy.