Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorder or fetal alcohol syndrome, a severe, irreversible developmental condition. Alcohol can cause problems for the baby throughout pregnancy, including before a woman knows she is pregnant. Alcohol use in the first 3 months of pregnancy can cause the baby to have abnormal facial features. Growth and central nervous system problems (for example, low birthweight, behavioral problems) can occur from alcohol use anytime during pregnancy.
Women who find out they’re pregnant after already having drunk in early pregnancy should avoid further drinking for the rest of their pregnancy. It may not be as difficult as you think to avoid alcohol completely during pregnancy. When you drink, alcohol passes from your blood through the placenta to your baby and can seriously affect its development. Help is available for any drug or alcohol problem at hospitals and clinics.
The risks involved with alcohol use during pregnancy
Effects on child development from alcohol in breast milk are not well studied. One study suggested problems with motor development following exposure to alcohol in breast milk, but other studies did not show the same results. Some reports found that babies exposed to alcohol through breast milk may eat less and/or have changes in their sleeping patterns. If you suspect the baby has any symptoms, contact the child’s healthcare provider.
How much alcohol will harm the fetus?
- These facilities can give you support and provide you with the appropriate resources to help you stop using drugs or alcohol.
- Fact– Even though you may not realize you are pregnant, the baby is still growing and developing.
- Talk to your healthcare provider about any concerns you have, though, as they can walk you through some strategies that are best for you.
One is for patients who are pregnant or are intending to be pregnant. It’s recommended that if you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant you should not drink alcohol. Copyright 2025 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The risks of binge drinking while pregnant
While we know any drinking during pregnancy can be risky, we don’t have a full picture of the effects of alcohol in early pregnancy. When you drink while pregnant, the alcohol quickly travels through your bloodstream, crosses the placenta, and reaches your baby. Your baby’s body breaks down alcohol more slowly than yours does, so your little one may end up with a higher level of blood alcohol, and be exposed to alcohol for a longer time than you would be. Over the last few years, there’s been some controversy surrounding drinking and pregnancy, over whether just a glass of wine with dinner is safe, and you may be wondering what to believe. Not to mention, more and more women are drinking during pregnancy.
Prenatal substance use disorder happens when an expectant mother uses drugs and/or alcohol, significantly increasing the risk for developmental and neurological disabilities in the developing fetus. Alcohol use during pregnancy can cause lifelong physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Nearly half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, and most women are pregnant for four to six weeks before even knowing they are. Without even knowing it, women risk exposing their developing babies to alcohol due to drinking and not using birth control during sex to prevent pregnancy.
Recognization and Screening
Drinking alcohol while pregnant is a leading cause of birth defects in a fetus. Alcohol is broken down more slowly in the immature body of the fetus than in the body of an adult. This can cause the alcohol levels to remain high and stay in the baby’s body longer. The risk of miscarriage and stillbirth also goes up if the mother drinks alcohol.
In this case, the mother must have consumed more than 13 alcoholic beverages during each month (30 days) of pregnancy or more than two alcoholic beverages at a time. Fact – Even if you dump milk after drinking, alcohol still remains in your blood for alcohol during pregnancy a period of time, depending how much you had to drink. The only way to get rid of alcohol from your system is to wait for your body to break it down and get rid of it. It takes about 2 to 2.5 hours for each standard drink to clear from breast milk.
- Alcohol used during pregnancy may also lead to long-term medical problems and birth defects.
- In November 2015, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a report that focused on recognizing, diagnosing, and treating FASD.
- What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations.
- Lower oxytocin levels can affect the amount of milk that is released from the breast, meaning a baby may actually get less milk.
People who find out they are pregnant and may have drunk alcohol while being pregnant need to stop immediately. They also need to consult a healthcare professional about a prenatal checkup. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise that there is no known safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy or while trying to get pregnant. It notes that all types of alcohol are equally harmful, including all spirits, wines, and beer. Pregnant women with alcoholism should join an alcohol abuse rehabilitation program.
Third, we should be mindful of the fact that women today often experience pregnancy and birth in an atmosphere of fear and anxiety. It’s easy to understand why pregnancy generates so much anxiety—women are deeply invested in giving birth to healthy children but fearful that something, anything, or everything they do or don’t do during pregnancy will affect their future child. Indeed, women today, as in the past, are made to feel responsible for everything that happens before, during, and after pregnancy and birth. The American College of Obstetricians and alcoholism symptoms Gynecologists recommends that all women who receive obstetric–gynecologic care be screened for alcohol use annually and during the first trimester of pregnancy (7). The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening and brief interventions to reduce excessive alcohol use among adults, including pregnant people for whom any alcohol use is considered excessive (8). Although some studies have examined current screening and intervention practices among primary care clinicians, few have focused on pregnant people.
It might be accurate to look at all the information out there and say that very light drinking in very early pregnancy doesn’t always (or often) cause problems — but it could. And different people define “light” differently, adding to the confusion. So following CDC and NHS guidelines of no alcohol at any point is the safest option and the one that we recommend. And this research published in 2012 suggested that even light drinking in the early weeks could increase miscarriage risk, though the risk goes up with heavier drinking. Perhaps you went off birth control a few months ago to try for a baby, but weren’t expecting to get pregnant so soon.
Health Care Providers
We decide what contraception to use based on our acceptance of the risk of an unintended pregnancy. We weigh risks and benefits of using anti-nausea medications or other drugs during pregnancy. For example, venues in New York City that serve alcohol are required by law to post a sign warning of the dangers that alcohol can pose to a developing fetus, but employees of that bar or restaurant must serve pregnant women alcohol if they order it. Researchers who knew nothing about the maternal consumption of alcohol during the pregnancy examined the 5-year-old children of those pregnancies.