The rate of women are drinking alcohol while pregnant has gone up in the United States, new data show.
One in nine pregnant women drink, and four percent binge-drink, according to a report on 2017 stats, the latest available, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is a slight increase from 2013, when one in 10 women said they drank alcohol while pregnant, and three percent admitted to binge-drinking.
'Drinking alcohol while pregnant can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders,' the report warns. 'There is no known safe level of alcohol use during pregnancy.'
One in nine pregnant women drink, and four percent binge-drink. It is a slight increase from 2013, when one in 10 women had alcohol while pregnant and three percent admitted to binge-drinking
Alcohol during pregnancy is more of a complicated topic than it may seem at first blush.
We know all types of alcohol can be linked to fetal alcohol syndrome, which can include developmental delays, heart conditions, facial deformities, and bone or joint problems.
A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2017 found that two drinks a week increases the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome by 10 percent.
However, the hard-and-fast rule against drinking in pregnancy has been complicated by research suggesting it's not all that bad.
Harvard researchers in 2013 found
