Rich pregnant women drink alcohol more often

Serious health problems from alcohol during pregnancy

12/09/2011

Women with a high level of education and good income have a greater tendency to drink alcohol during pregnancy, while women from poorer social backgrounds consistently abstain from alcohol, according to experts from the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA)..

As a cell poison, alcohol attacks the organs and nervous system of unborn children when their mothers drink during pregnancy. The health consequences are serious. Around 10,000 children are born each year with corresponding alcohol damage - the so-called fetal alcohol syndrome or the fetal alcohol effect. As part of the day of the alcohol-damaged child last Friday informed the Federal Center for Health Education on possible health problems that may occur due to the alcohol consumption of pregnant women in their children.

At the event, the head of BZgA's addiction prevention unit, Michaela Goecke, said that „20 percent of women from the upper social class in pregnancy occasionally drink alcohol“ while only 8.5 percent of low-educated women and A surprising finding, since so far always women from low-income and educational groups, were considered particularly vulnerable. The BZgA expert stressed, however, that in pregnant women „generally more alcohol abstinence in the social underclass than in the upper class“ to be found. For example, women with high levels of education and income, the occasional glass of wine or beer at dinner seem to be able to withstand far worse than women from low income and underdeveloped classes. For Michaela Goecke an alarm signal, because „even small amounts of alcohol can cause permanent damage to the unborn child.“

Alcohol enters directly into the bloodstream of the unborn child
The ingested alcohol passes directly through the placenta into the bloodstream of the unborn child, which quickly reaches the same level of alcohol as the mother, said the experts of the BZgA during the day of the alcohol-damaged child. Because the organs of the unborn children are still in development, the children can barely degrade the alcohol and threaten alcohol-related physical deformities and damage to the organs and the nervous system, warned the BZgA. For the children, the use of alcohol by pregnant women often brings lifelong physical and mental disabilities, which is why „Pregnant and breastfeeding women completely abstain from alcohol“ warned Michaela Goecke. It is totally unacceptable to the expert that women with a high level of education, who should actually know what harm their child is threatening, consume more alcohol during pregnancy. The same tendency is also observed in older pregnant women, explained the head of the unit addiction prevention unit of the BZgA. Thus, the propensity for alcohol consumption during pregnancy increases not only with the level of education, but also with the age. Contrary to better knowledge, up to 15 percent of pregnant women drink a glass of wine, beer or schnapps at least once a month and thus risk lifelong health impairments in their child, warned the Federal Center for Health Education. (Fp)

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