Do you know why pregnant women should not drink?

Prof. Know Why answers:

Women who are pregnant or trying for a baby should stop drinking alcohol altogether or at least restrict to moderate drinking – the doctors advice. Because by exceeding the recommended limit they often put their babies at risk. But do women ever pay any serious attention on this cliché warning, ever? If not, all you women better know the consequences now, than be sorry, later!

Although, moderate drinking like up to two units once or twice a week is permissible, total abstinence is always desirable – as the doctors say. Heavy drinking can cause Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, an incurable condition resulting in retardation, poor memory and in the worst cases, facial abnormalities. Surveys say, about one in 1,000 babies are born with the syndrome each year, worldwide.

But a milder condition, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, is more common, affecting more than 6,000 children each year in Britain alone, and is a leading cause of learning difficulties.

Because many women do not realize that they are pregnant for the first few months, the advice is extended to those trying to conceive as well. And if a pregnant woman chooses to carry on drinking, she should not get drunk and keep to the recommended limit of one to two units once or twice a week in order to minimize risks to the baby.

Related Posts:

• Do you know why pregnant women crave for pickles and ice creams?
• Do you know why you should drink?

Do you know why pregnant women crave for pickles and ice cream?

Prof. Know Why explains:

Pregnant women are famous for their midnight yearnings for pickles and ice cream. And the desire for chocolates is the stuff of legend.

It’s tempting to believe –as many people do –that cravings are the body’s way of telling us that we are lacking a certain nutrient which the food we crave can supply. Chocolates, as the belief goes, might soothe a broken heart by replacing compounds lost in oceans of tears. But pregnant women might crave ice cream because they need calcium and pickles because they lack sodium.

Pregnant women rarely crave for fruits and vegetables. More often, they yarn for foods that are very sweet, spicy or salty. From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense. A craving for highly palatable foods may have been nature’s way of boosting calorie intake, ensuring a healthy pregnancy.

So would-be fathers –get ready for your sweet-heart’s sudden demand of a chocolate-ice cream in the wee hours of the night.