Alcohol is risky business at any stage of pregnancy

Conceiving a baby and drinking alcohol? Not a great idea.

Almost half of Canadian pregnancies are truly unexpected. Most women don’t know they are pregnant for six to eight weeks. Even planned pregnancies can take a while to achieve.

Whatever the situation, mixing alcohol, sex and possible pregnancy can be dangerous.

Drinking alcohol while trying to conceive, if you are pregnant but don’t know it yet, or while pregnant, is a risky business. There is no known safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy. Exposure to alcohol can cause damage to a fetus, and sometimes lead to a lifelong disability called “fetal alcohol spectrum disorder,” or FASD for short. This can include challenges with memory, thinking, judgment, attention, communication, social skills, and some physical health conditions.

Having FASD is already a big challenge for four per cent of Canadians. There is no cure for FASD, but it is preventable with awareness, good policies, and the right supports for women and their partners.

For years, messages about not drinking alcohol during pregnancy have been directed only at women, increasing guilt in women who may have consumed alcohol while pregnant or before their pregnancy was confirmed. In recent years, there has been an increase in problem drinking and binge drinking among girls and women, compared with boys and men. Worse, the stigma placed on women and mothers with alcohol problems is very strong, and a barrier to getting helpful advice about alcohol and pregnancy from health care providers, or support from friends and family.

And now COVID-19 has placed added burdens on women, with increased caregiving, responsibility for home-schooling, more risky essential work or more unemployment. COVID-19 measures have kept us at home with more stress and more drinking. A Canadian survey about drinking alcohol at home during COVID-19 shows that one in 10 women are drinking in excess of low-risk guidelines that suggest a limit of 10 drinks per week for women. If they were pregnant at the time, this puts these women at risk for having a child with FASD.

All in all, it’s a good time to think about the risks of drinking alcohol if you are having sex without contraception. And especially if you are already pregnant.

In this time of COVID-19, the first national campaign on FASD prevention in Canada has been launched, encouraging all people to go alcohol free if they are pregnant, trying to conceive, or having unprotected sex. The campaign ThinkFASD includes ads on Facebook and YouTube and a website thinkfasd.ca with resources and information. The messages are directed at both men and women.

It’s definitely time for all of society, starting with men, to take this message to heart and to support women in not drinking while trying to conceive, while waiting for confirmation of pregnancy, and while pregnant. How?

Spread the message that alcohol is a dangerous drug for a fetus. Take responsibility for not drinking around women, or pressuring women to drink if unprotected sex is on the agenda, or if pregnant.

Don’t add to the burdens women already are facing. Come up with other ways to enjoy life, relieve stress and lower the burdens on women, despite pandemics and uncertainty.

After all, it takes two to make three. International FASD Awareness Day is Sept. 9, highlighting the importance of being alcohol-free during pregnancy. Canada has declared the month of September as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Month.