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Science One of 3 women drink alcohol while pregnant in Australia
Science One of 3 women drink alcohol while pregnant in Australia | One of 3 women drink alcohol while pregnant in Australia |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Tuesday, 13 May 2008 | |
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 Science DiscussionsAustralian pediatrician Elizabeth Elliott, of the Discipline of Pediatrics and Child Health at the University of Sydney, was one of the researchers conducting the study. The results of the study was presented at the 2008 Annual Congress of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), being held from May 11 to 15, 2008, at Adelaide, South Australia. The RACP Congress is the largest meeting of physicians, pediatricians, and related professionals in Australia. The researchers of the study conducted a telephone survey of 1,103 Australian women between the ages of 18 and 45 years. Elliott and fellow researchers found that 34% of women within the survey had consumed alcohol during their last pregnancy. When questioned as to whether they would drink alcohol during a future pregnancy, 32% said they would. In addition, the researchers found that 93% of these same women knew that alcohol could have detrimental affects on their unborn children. In fact, 81% of the surveyed women stated that pregnant women should not drink alcohol at any time during their pregnancy. Elliott stated that the use of alcohol in the early months of a pregnancy can cause birth defects in fetuses. Alcohol use in the later months of a pregnancy, Elliott said, can negatively affect the developing brain of an unborn child. She stated, “The message, really, for women should be that no safe level has been established, and that large amounts of alcohol frequently, and particularly early in the pregnancy, is likely to cause the worst outcomes.” [News.com.au: “One third of pregnant women drink”] Elliott commented that low amounts of alcohol use in pregnant women are likely to cause “no damage to their baby.” However, because of differences in the age, weight, health, and other important characteristics of women, it is very difficult to predict for sure that such damage will not occur to the unborn baby. Elliott added, “Not drinking in pregnancy is the safest option and we particularly advise women not to become intoxicated." Professor Elliott compared drinking and pregnancy attitudes of women in Australia and the United States. Please read on. |
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