This is precisely the calculus my wife and I have employed over the past 7 months of her pregnancy (expecting in late March). That is, since the evidence is unclear on what is safe, but clearly none is safe, then none is the right answer.
There were celebrations we attended in which we would have liked the answer to be one glass a day is OK¹ but not having really good evidence to support that left us saying, ³no, thank you² at parties, and using Fre alcohol free sparkling wine for New Years. -- Paul Bernhardt Frostburg State University Frostburg, MD, USA On 2/6/09 11:50 AM, "DeVolder Carol L" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > Dear Tipsters, > > I tried posting this on the other list (PSYTEACH) but it was rejected because > it serves no purpose to carry this any further since it has strayed from the > ³teaching of psychology.² This list is easier, and if you¹re not interested, > then just delete it. I think it relates to teaching psych because I want to > provide my students with what I consider valid information. So, I¹m copying > what I sent to the other list for what it¹s worth. The question on PSYTEACH to > which I am referring dealt with how much alcohol is safe during pregnancy, and > whether we are using scare tactics to unnecessarily frighten people. > > I've been waiting to write this message because I wanted to hear back from a > colleague, Dr. Jennifer Thomas, at San Diego State University. In my opinion, > Jennifer is a well-respected expert in this field and is past president of > the Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group. I also went to grad school with > Jen and remember her work with rat pups and their exposure to alcohol (that's > my disclosure about potential bias, but really I'd still consider her an > expert). I asked her for her opinion on acceptable levels of alcohol ingestion > during pregnancy and the threshold for adverse fetal effects, and she > acknowledged that there is very active debate on the topic, with the consensus > in the US being somewhat different from the consensus in the UK. (The position > in the US is abstinence, in the UK the accepted level is a glass per day.) In > her words, "The problem really is that there is so much variability in > response to alcohol(genetics, nutrition, other exposures) that one cannot make > a prediction of the risk for an individual and so there is NO known safe level > of alcohol exposure during pregnancy. We certainly see changes with low > levels of exposure with the animal models. It is more difficult to study in > humans." Jennifer also pointed me to two sites, which I am including here: > http://www.rsoa.org/fas.html <http://www.rsoa.org/fas.html> and > http://www.rsoa.org/fas-Response.pdf <http://www.rsoa.org/fas-Response.pdf> . > The second link has a reference list. > > My opinion remains unchanged--I still believe in complete abstinence during > all phases of pregnancy. I realize there are anecdotes about people who drink > and their "baby came out just fine," but I'd rather be safe than sorry as much > as possible. > > Carol > > > > Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. > > Professor of Psychology > > Chair, Department of Psychology > > St. Ambrose University > > Davenport, Iowa 52803 > > phone: 563-333-6482 > > e-mail: [email protected] > > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
