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The lead researcher and a majority of media coverage of a newly published study on light alcohol consumption during pregnancy incorrectly suggest that light drinking is without risk, and sends an irresponsible message to the public.
The researcher and many media stories describing the study claim that in light of the findings public health advisories that recommend complete abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy should be reconsidered. The reasoning for such a conclusion is faulty and the promotion of the suggestion is reckless.
Alcohol is toxic to human development and poses a risk at any consumption level.
It has long been established that alcohol is a teratogen, a neurotoxin such as lead or mercury that can interfere with human development. Any amount of alcohol consumed when a woman is pregnant poses a risk. The amount and frequency of consumption relates to the degree of potential harm not to whether the risk of harm exists. It is true that the lower the amount of alcohol consumed the less the risk for most people, however, why would anyone accept any risk at all and play Russian Roulette with the health of their baby?
Findings from the study may be of value in understanding low-dose effects, but are not relevant to public health advisories.
Official public health advisors are intended to advise consumers of potentially toxic substances and risk behavior. Alcohol has been definitively shown to be a neurotoxin to a developing embryo and fetus--unlike an adult an unborn baby cannot metabolize alcohol. From a public health standpoint, no country’s highest medical officer would say that any amount of a toxic substance, low-dose or otherwise, is completely without risk. Once alcohol was found to be toxic to an unborn baby, the only appropriate public health message remains a recommendation of abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy or if you are planning a pregnancy due to the RISK of birth defects.
While the findings from the UCL study may be a value to the understanding of the effects of low-dose prenatal alcohol exposure they have no relevance to the formulation of a public health advisory or message. Would a government state that low-dose lead exposure or low-dose asbestos exposure for children or for that matter adults is of no concern, implying that it was safe? Any amount of a toxic substance poses some risk.
Advisories about alcohol and pregnancy must be very carefully considered so as not to unduly alarm women who may have engaged in low-dose consumption during pregnancy. The solution is not simply to report to the public that low-dose alcohol is without risk.
Lead researcher Dr. Yvonne Kelly makes contradictory statements in saying that, “Problem behaviors or cognitive deficits may become apparent in these children at older ages…” while also stating that, “Our study's findings do raise questions as to whether the current push for policy to recommend complete abstinence during pregnancy is merited…”
It is confounding that the research authors believe the findings warrant reconsideration of a health message intended to avoid any risk when she concedes that it’s possible that deficits could be quantified in the research subjects as they age. Whatever the merits of the research, it is irresponsible to link the findings to public health messages.
In reporting research findings, the media is irresponsibly giving women license to use low-dose alcohol during pregnancy.
Recent reports find that caffeine may be linked to low-birth weight. Caffeine is a stimulant that is not toxic to adults and not known to be toxic to an unborn baby. It is an example of a substance where a judgment can be made—based on all available research—as to what exposure levels may pose a risk or would most likely not pose a risk to a pregnancy.
Caffeine is not a neurotoxin, unlike alcohol. Alcohol is a poison to an unborn baby. Whether the toxic exposure will result in actual quantifiable harm is based on the dosage, and other factors that are not completely understood, but include the general health of the mother, her nutrition and genetic predisposition. Low-dose alcohol is less likely to produce quantifiable birth defects then heavy or binge alcohol use during pregnancy, but some risk remains. For example, for most people the risk of getting cancer from tobacco or asbestos exposure or having neurological damage from lead exposure is reduced as the exposure level is reduced, but no public health authority would promote a message that implies that low-dose exposure is safe or without any risk. The risk of birth defects from alcohol exposure among newborns begins at >0, not at a specific threshold of consumption.
Alcohol-related birth defects are completely 100% preventable if the public is informed of the risk and women who are problem drinkers or dependent on alcohol have access to treatment. NOFAS is committed to responsibly promoting the message that no amount of alcohol consumption can be considered safe during pregnancy, and therefore women should abstain from alcohol if they are pregnant or considering a pregnancy due to the risk of birth defects.
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