Alcohol during pregnancy: Danger for your baby

“A little glass won’t do any harm!” – a phrase that pregnant women also often hear. Yet even Even “just a little” alcohol during pregnancy can have a negative impact on the health of the unborn baby. How dangerous alcohol is during pregnancy, how it behaves in food, and what else you should be aware of, you will find out in this guide.

What makes alcohol so dangerous during pregnancy?

Alcohol is a cytotoxin that passes unhindered through the placenta to the unborn baby during pregnancy. This can serious consequences have. Every year are Around 10,000 newborns are affected by damage caused by alcohol during pregnancy. Many of them suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which can involve mental, motor, physical or behavioural abnormalities. If only certain areas of this spectrum are affected, it is referred to as a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

How much alcohol is acceptable during pregnancy?

There is no established lower limit when it comes to alcohol during pregnancy. In other words, there is no amount that can be assumed to have absolutely no effect on the unborn child. Therefore, the rule during pregnancy is: Every sip of alcohol is one too many!

What happens if I drink alcohol without knowing that I am pregnant?

Shortly after the fertilisation of the egg, it is not possible to know whether a woman is pregnant or not. Usually, two weeks pass before the first test can be taken or until the period is missed. During this time, many women consume alcohol and then, after finding out about their pregnancy, worry about the health of their baby. In the first two weeks after conception, the “all-or-nothing principle” applies.

"All-or-nothing principle"

In the early stages of pregnancy, The embryo's cells either compensate for damage caused by alcohol, or the pregnancy does not occur at all. However, there is no guarantee for this principle.

Women who discover their pregnancy in the 5th or 6th week of gestation generally need not worry if they have consumed some alcohol in the previous two weeks. In such cases, malformations or complications are only to be expected in the rarest of instances.

Alcohol in cooking

Pregnant women should also avoid alcohol in food. It is often said that wine or similar alcohols boil off completely during cooking and are therefore harmless. However, this is not always the case. A sauce prepared with wine would need to be cooked for at least 2½ hours at 78 to 100 degrees in order for all the alcohol to be removed. To be on the safe side, pregnant women should temporarily refrain from using alcohol when preparing food.

Overall, it is therefore important for the health of the unborn child to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy. If you have had something to drink, speak openly with your gynaecologist about it. If you still find it difficult to give up alcohol during pregnancy, be sure to seek help. to protect your health and that of your child. Here you can be helped anonymously.

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