Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is not recommended because alcohol can have a negative impact on the health of the fetus and pregnant women themselves. Want to know what are the dangers of alcohol to pregnancy? Read more about this article.
Information about drinking alcohol in small amounts during pregnancy is considered safe to do and should not be swallowed raw. The reason is, every woman has a different resistance to alcoholic beverages. For safety reasons, pregnant women are advised not to drink any alcohol.
This is the reason drinking alcohol while pregnant is dangerous
Drinking alcohol while pregnant is not recommended. When pregnant women drink it, alcohol will enter the bloodstream and can cross the placenta, so the fetus in the womb can also "drink".
Alcohol will actually be broken down in the liver. However, because the fetal liver is still in the developmental stage, the organ's ability to break down alcohol is not perfect.
As a result, the level of alcohol contained in the fetal bloodstream can become high so that it can affect its growth and development while in the womb, even until later it is born into the world.
The dangers of drinking alcohol during the first trimester of pregnancy
If pregnant women consume alcohol in the first trimester of pregnancy, there is a possibility that the process of forming the organs, face, and limbs of the fetus will be disrupted. That way, the risk of the baby having birth defects is high. Other risks are miscarriage, premature birth, and low birth weight babies.
The dangers of drinking alcohol during the second trimester of pregnancy
The dangers of drinking alcohol in the second trimester of pregnancy cannot be underestimated. Even in small amounts, alcohol consumption can increase the risk of miscarriage in the 2nd trimester by up to 70%.
Other dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant
Drinking alcohol while pregnant, especially in excessive amounts, can cause the fetus to develop alcohol syndrome (fetal alcohol syndrome or FAS). Babies affected by FAS can have birth defects, learning difficulties, have growth problems, suffer from behavioral disorders, and find it difficult to socialize with other people.
Besides having a negative impact on the fetus, drinking alcohol can also harm the health of pregnant women. Women who consume alcoholic beverages during pregnancy are at risk for dehydration, high blood pressure, nutritional deficiencies, and gestational diabetes.
The dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant should not be ignored, so the best thing you can do is not drink it at all. In fact, pregnant women are recommended to stop consuming alcoholic beverages since before becoming pregnant or since undergoing a pregnancy program.
If pregnant women are already drinking alcohol because they do not realize that they are pregnant, stop immediately. The sooner pregnant women stop drinking alcohol, the better the development of the fetus will be. To ensure that the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy do not cause harm to the fetus, check with a gynecologist.
