Irish women are more inclined to consume alcohol during pregnancy compared to their peers around the world.
An international analysis compared women in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It found that weekly consumption of Irish women tends to be low and that they ignore public health recommendation to live alcohol free during pregnancy, for risk of mental and physical problems the unborn baby may suffer.
The new study compared previous research conducted involving 17,244 pregnant women in the four countries. The study has been published BMJ Open.
Ireland has been found to be the country with the highest rates of alcohol use, both before and during pregnancy. 90% of women consume alcohol before pregnancy and 82% of Irish women use alcohol during their pregnancy. Before pregnancy, 59% of Irish women engage in binge alcohol use. During pregnancy it is still a whopping 45%. The findings are based on estimates from the SCOPE study.
“[T]he widespread consumption of even low levels of alcohol during pregnancy is a significant public health concern,” warn the study authors.
