The CDC Wants Women of Childbearing Age to Rethink Drinking
Who doesn’t love a good glass of wine (maybe paired with a delicious Girl Scouts cookie or two)? And raise your hand if you can’t bear the thought of watching all those Super Bowl ads without a frosty mug of beer? That’s why the latest recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control is sure to have tongues wagging… and faces frowning.
The CDC has just released a released a report advising that all women of childbearing age abstain from alcohol. That’s right: All women aged 15 to 44 are being asked to rethink drinking… that is, if they aren’t using birth control. The CDC argues that because 3.3 million women in the US could get pregnant at any time, those of us not using regular contraception could, in theory, get pregnant and, if you are a regular drinker, could expose your child to the very dangerous Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Why? Because over 50 percent of pregnancies in the US are unplanned, and many women of childbearing age drink more than one to two units of alcohol a week.
Say WUT?
The CDC further states that up to one in 20 school-aged children in the US may be already exhibiting signs of FAS in school. Some of the issues that these children face include: hyperactivity, difficulty with attention, poor reasoning and judgement skills, and poor social interaction. Children with FAS also encounter lifelong issues with mental health, substance abuse and other health issues.
This report is the complete opposite of a recent UK report (2013) that says that mothers who drank one or two glasses of wine per week had children with no adverse affects nor did their children display any signs of FAS.
Cue: Giant sigh.
Do you think the CDC recommendations are reasonable or totally overprotective? Please tell us yr thoughts @britandco!
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