Health Q&A: Wine and Pregnancy

Posted: February 14, 2007

Q: Can I drink wine when I am pregnant?

A: Epidemiologist Dr. R. Curtis Ellison, of the Institute on Lifestyle and Health at Boston University School of Medicine, answers:

The occasional consumption of a glass of wine during pregnancy has not been shown to have adverse effects on the fetus; however, the "official" and safest guideline is to avoid wine while you are pregnant.

The most dreaded outcome from alcohol consumption during pregnancy, fetal alcohol syndrome, occurs only as the result of very heavy drinking; the mothers are generally alcoholics who are unable to stop drinking throughout pregnancy.

Women who decide that they want to continue to have wine during pregnancy should consume only minimal amounts, always sipped slowly with food to avoid a rise in blood-alcohol levels.

This item was excerpted from Dr. Ellison's article "Wine and a Healthy Lifestyle," originally printed in the Oct. 15, 2004 issue of Wine Spectator magazine.

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