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A prospective cohort study of alcohol exposure in early and late pregnancy within an urban population in Ireland.
Murphy, Deirdre J Dunney, Clare Mullally, Aoife Adnan, Nita Fahey, Tom Barry, Joe
Murphy, Deirdre J
Dunney, Clare
Mullally, Aoife
Adnan, Nita
Fahey, Tom
Barry, Joe
Advisors
Editors
Other Contributors
Departments
Date
2014-02
Date Submitted
Keywords
Other Subjects
Subject Mesh
Adult
Alcohol Drinking
Female
Humans
Ireland
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Outcome
Pregnancy Trimester, First
Pregnancy Trimester, Third
Prospective Studies
Urban Population
Young Adult
Alcohol Drinking
Female
Humans
Ireland
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Outcome
Pregnancy Trimester, First
Pregnancy Trimester, Third
Prospective Studies
Urban Population
Young Adult
Planned Date
Start Date
Collaborators
Principal Investigators
Files
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ijerph1102049.pdf
Adobe PDF, 210.11 KB
Alternative Titles
Publisher
Abstract
Most studies of alcohol consumption in pregnancy have looked at one time point only, often relying on recall. The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine whether alcohol consumption changes in early and late pregnancy and whether this affects perinatal outcomes. We performed a prospective cohort study, conducted from November 2010 to December 2011 at a teaching hospital in the Republic of Ireland. Of the 907 women with a singleton pregnancy who booked for antenatal care and delivered at the hospital, 185 (20%) abstained from alcohol in the first trimester but drank in the third trimester, 105 (12%) consumed alcohol in the first and third trimesters, and the remaining 617 (68%) consumed no alcohol in pregnancy. Factors associated with continuing to drink in pregnancy included older maternal age (30-39 years), Irish nationality, private healthcare, smoking, and a history of illicit drug use. Compared to pre-pregnancy, alcohol consumption in pregnancy was markedly reduced, with the majority of drinkers consuming ≤ 5 units per week (92% in first trimester, 72-75% in third trimester). Perhaps because of this, perinatal outcomes were similar for non-drinkers, women who abstained from alcohol in the first trimester, and women who drank in the first and third trimester of pregnancy. Most women moderate their alcohol consumption in pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, and have perinatal outcomes similar to those who abstain.
Language
en
ISSN
1660-4601
eISSN
ISBN
DOI
10.3390/ijerph110202049
PMID
24549147
PMCID
Sponsorships
The study was funded by the Health Services Executive of Ireland as part of the “Alcohol in
Pregnancy” project. The funding source had no involvement in any aspects of study design, writing of
the report, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.