The Controversy Surrounding Drinking Red Wine While Pregnant
Although the charges against 28-year-old Tasha Adams of Arkansas, who was arrested for endangering the welfare of her child when she was reported to be drinking while breastfeeding, were dropped, the topic of mothers drinking while pregnant and/or nursing remains incredibly controversial. Adams maintained that she was not drunk and wishes the police had given her a breathalyzer to determine sobriety. According the The Daily Mail UK,
"Arkansas law doesn't ban drinking and breastfeeding, and experts say little research has been done on whether it does affect a nursing child," and yet law or no law, right or wrong, the social stigma surrounding this subject persists.
At least in the United States. In France, Italy, Germany and several other European countries, total abstention from alcohol is neither a hard nor fast rule. Expectant European women are advised to cut down on consumption, but not advised to eliminate it entirely as is often the case with American women. In a piece on Babble, author L.J. Williamson believes that "because there's a lack of consensus on a 'safe' level of alcohol consumption, the message pregnant American women most often hear is that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption," which understandably, is what causes an uproar like the one in Arkansas.
Connecticut mom, HaNa Park Van Wagener, admits to having consumed about one glass of red wine a night about four times a week throughout her pregnancy. "I LOVED drinking wine while I was pregnant, and I am so not afraid to hide that fact!" proffered Van Wagener, when I asked her about drinking wine during her pregnancy. Van Wagener, 34-year-old VP of a bank and now the proud mother of three-month-old Oliver, was quick to point out that "drinking wine in moderation is not bad. Both my OBGYN and my endocrinologist said that it doesn't hurt. And, in fact, my OB encouraged it during my last trimester because it calmed me down, ultimately having a positive effect on the fetus."
As someone who pre-pregnancy consumed one to two glasses a night following a long day at the office, Van Wagener admitted she cut way back when she learned she was expecting, in part because she didn't have as strong a taste for the juice. She's up front and open about the fact that she didn't ever cut it out completely, however, and she refused to let others' silent or not-so-silent disapprovals deter her thoughtful decision. Her husband Brian, Ivy-league educated like his wife, supported her and "actually encouraged it," though not before doing a bit of research that led him to conclude that "there is no confirmed correlation between drinking red wine and birth defects/intelligence levels among babies."
She points out a study that found women who occasionally drank red wine while pregnant had children with higher IQ levels--"correlation, not causation," she's quick to insert.
Curious, I ask about previous studies that have made correlating assertions between birth defects and drinking. Turns out that one major study was debunked when it was discovered that the researcher manipulated data, Van Wagener eagerly reports.
Unfortunately for Van Wagener, the country is rather divided on the hot topic, and Dr. Paul Wopperer, an OBGYN in Buffalo, NY notes that The American College of OBGYN has a policy which states that no alcohol whatsoever in all trimesters of pregnancy should be consumed. He explains that the staunch policy is likely owing to the danger of fetal alcohol syndrome and the fact that it is very hard to quantify amounts of alcohol.
While Wopperer doesn't take exactly the same stance as the medical board, he is careful not to really advocate for moderate imbibing either--perhaps a result of the lack of consensus on the topic in the US and his reluctance to be met with opposition. Says Wopperer: "I take the position that you should avoid all alcohol in the first trimester when critical fetal development occurs. Then I tell them (his patients) an occasional single beer or single glass of wine is permissible, but never more than one at a sitting and no mixed drinks or hard alcohol." And, he goes on to point out that he only tells that to patients he has known for quite some time and has developed a trusting doctor-patient relationship with. Mentioning the challenges of the medical legal environment, especially as far as obstetricians are concerned, Wopperer concludes that he "would never ok or encourage MODERATE consumption of any alcohol in pregnancy."
Van Wagener avoided all hard alcohol and maintains that she listened to her body--and her doctor's green light. "If I felt like a glass of wine, I drank it, but I never went overboard, and I was never tempted to," Van Wagener says.
Listening to one's body during pregnancy is practical and smart. When you're caring for an unborn baby, the desire to go out and tie one on is presumably or hopefully absent, but as Wopperer says "What is mild or moderate to some is excessive by other peoples criteria."
Before you partake in any light imbibing during your pregnancy, you should consult with your physician and have a discussion with your partner. Do your research, and above all, listen to your body and your baby.
By Stacey Gawronski
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