There is a backlash against advice from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) warning sexually active women women not to drink alcohol if they are not using birth control.
Brown University economics professor Emily Oster, who has studied pregnancy research, calls the CDC report "
Have said my piece about occasional drinking in pregnancy many times (its okay!) so not much to add for @CDC, even more insane than usual.
— ProfEmilyOster (@ProfEmilyOster) February 3, 2016
."
The Atlantic magazine calls the guidelines "bonkers" and the women's news site Jezebel characterizes the report as "an unrealistic warning." The report states an estimated 3.3 million women in the U.S. aged 15-44 are at risk of exposing their developing baby to alcohol, and therefore declares that "sexually active women who stop using birth control should stop drinking alcohol."
The scientific research has not reached consensus.
Oster has analyzed studies showing that there is "no credible evidence than low levels of drinking (a glass of wine or so a day) have any impact on your baby's cognitive development." The United Kingdom's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists asserts that while alcohol abstinence is the safest option, "[the] available evidence on low-level drinking has not yet been found to be harmful to women or their babies after 12 weeks." However, the well-respected Mayo Clinic advises women to "[c]onsider giving up alcohol during your childbearing years if you're sexually active and you're having unprotected sex."
Is the strict advice realistic? Is it supported by research?
Guests:
Emily Oster, author of the book “Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong” (Penguin, 2013) which explores research on pregnancy and alcohol use. She is an associate professor of economics at Brown University
Tom Donaldson, President, National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Founded in 1990, NOFAS is the only international, non-profit organization committed solely to FASD primary prevention, advocacy and support