Is there a safe amount of alcohol for pregnant women?

In a new article published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, corresponding author Elizabeth Sowell, PhD of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, in collaboration with authors from Harvard Medical School and San Diego State University, reviewed ongoing research efforts to determine whether light-to-moderate drinking during pregnancy is safe. Director of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory at The Saban Research Institute at CHLA, Sowell addressed the complexities in determining safe levels of alcohol consumption and how studies failing to demonstrate certain harmful effects can mistakenly be touted as proving the safety of light-to-moderate drinking during pregnancy.

According to the article, there are many factors that complicate this area of research. Animal and cellular studies have demonstrated significant effects of alcohol on neural pathways, ranging from cognitive defects to facial abnormalities. A recent study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 10.2 percent of pregnant women reported consuming alcohol within the last 30 days. However, such human studies rely on self-reporting by mothers on alcohol consumption, which may be biased due to the stigma faced by pregnant women who drink. Genetic, environmental and social factors may also play a role in how much of an effect alcohol may have.

While, overall, research has demonstrated significant negative effects on children when alcohol is consumed during pregnancy, uncertainty remains when it comes to what levels of alcohol, if any, may be safe. Sowell and her co-authors stress raising awareness of the risks relative to benefits.

“The risks of light-to-moderate drinking during pregnancy are readily demonstrable in preclinical studies and some clinical studies. In contrast, the benefits of light-to-moderate drinking during pregnancy - the pleasure and relaxation afforded by alcohol - are modest… Women should be encouraged and not stigmatized in their efforts to reduce behaviors that might adversely influence pregnancy outcomes.”

For more on this subject, check out our September 2014 interview with Sowell.