14 DAY TRIAL // 10% of mothers-to-be have a sip or two of alcohol during their second trimester of pregnancy, researchers in Norway have found. What's more, 16% consume small amounts of alcohol while in the first trimester.
Binge drinking, on the other hand, was documented in 12% of women during the first trimester and in 0.5% during the second trimester.
Specialists say that, as far as they could tell, the women who drink while pregnant do so due to the fact that they experience something known as negative affectivity.
This basically means that they tend to view both themselves and the world in a fairly negative way, and are therefore more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.
EurekAlert tells us that, with each unit increase in maternal negative affectivity, a mother's chances to consume limited amounts of alcohol upped by 27% and 28% in the first and in the second trimester, respectively.
By comparison, each unit increase in negative affectivity was found to up binge drinking risk for the first and the second trimester by 55% and 114% respectively.
“Our findings clearly show a link between a mother's negative emotions, such as depression and anxiety, and light alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy,” Dr. Stene-Larsen commented on these findings.
“Further study is needed to understand why women continue to drink alcohol while pregnant despite health warnings,” the specialist added.