Drinking Red Wine while Pregnant

If you are pregnant, you must have surely been advised by your doctor and other elders of the family to stay away from any kind of alcohol. It has been said that women who drink red wine or alcohol during pregnancy are putting their child at a risk of developing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Children who have the fetal alcohol syndrome can have problems like central nervous system damage, facial deformities, poor growth, both before and after birth, etc. The problems caused by this syndrome are permanent and can never be cured with treatment. This is the main reason because of which pregnant women are advised against consuming alcohol. However, recent research studies have shown that FAS is a possibility, only if a pregnant woman drinks excessive amount of alcohol. In other words, women who drink lightly or moderately during their pregnancy do not actually cause any harm to their babies. Here, let us take a detailed look at this issue of debate.

Consuming Red Wine During Pregnancy
Though there are many people who claim that consuming red wine or for that matter any kind of alcohol during pregnancy can cause major damage to the unborn baby, there is actually no evidence to support this claim. However, drinking heavily i.e. having 2-3 glasses of wine everyday, throughout the pregnancy can have adverse effects on the physical and mental development of the baby. On the other hand, drinking lightly i.e. may be 2-3 glasses of wine, every week does not cause any harm to the baby. It has been found that there are many women whose babies were born healthy, in spite of the fact that they drank red wine during their pregnancy.

Another question that is asked by pregnant women is that, 'is consuming red wine good for you'. The answer to the question is again quite controversial. This is because though in America, pregnant women are advised not to drink wine, countries like France advice women to drink red wine, as it helps in calming their nerves and help them in relaxing during the stressful months of pregnancy. Apart from this, certain studies have shown other benefits of consuming red wine. Let us take a closer look at the benefits of consuming red wine during pregnancy.

• It has been found that children of mothers who drank red wine during their pregnancy, have less behavioral problems as well as cognitive defects than those who abstained from alcohol completely for nine months. Other than this, girls who were born to women who drank wine occasionally, showed less emotional as well as peer issues than those who were born from women who did not have wine during their pregnancy.
• Another study has shown that consuming red wine during pregnancy can also help in the development of the child. It has been observed that such children score better in vocabulary tests and also are able to identify shapes, letters, colors, numbers, etc. better than the other children, when they are 18 months old.
• Women who experience preterm contractions are sometimes recommended to consume red wine as it helps in stopping these contractions. Apart from that, it is also said that chances of survival for children who are born preterm is higher in case of those who are born to mothers who are light drinkers than those who have abstained completely from alcohol during their pregnancy.

So, the answer to the question, 'is consuming red wine good for you, while pregnant' is yes, if taken in moderate quantities. Though red wine has certain benefits, it does not mean that women who usually do not drink wine should start drinking when they become pregnant. Nevertheless, if you drink wine during normal conditions, there is no reason why you should stop drinking it suddenly. If you still have a little doubt about this matter, talking to your gynecologist can be helpful. However, under no circumstances should you drink too much of wine i.e. 2-3 glasses everyday, as this can cause severe physical as well as mental damage to your unborn baby.