The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report finds that about 1 in 8 U.S. women drank some amount of alcohol during their pregnancy.
A 15-year-study by the CDC has found the number of women who drink alcohol while pregnant is not decreasing and that 1 out of 50 pregnant women engaged in binge drinking.
“The surgeons general have told pregnant women, and women who may become pregnant to abstain from alcohol consumption in order to eliminate the chance of giving birth to a baby with alcohol-related birth defects,” said the report
The study found that pregnant women most likely to report any alcohol use were:
- ages 35-44 — 17.7 %
- college graduates –14.4 %
- employed — 13.7 %
- unmarried 13.4 %
Pregnant women who binge drink were more likely to be employed and unmarried, the study said.
The researchers used data from 533,506 women age 18-44, of whom 22,027 reported being pregnant at the time of the interview.
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