CDC Press Release: One in 10 pregnant women in the United States reports drinking alcohol

1 in 10 pregnant women reports alochol use*
*Defined as at least one drink of any alcoholic beverage in the past 30 days.
Source: CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), United states 2011-2013

Press Release

Embargoed until 1:00 P.M. ET

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Contact: CDC Media Relations

(404) 639-3286

One in 10 pregnant women in the United States reports drinking alcohol

About a third of those who drink alcohol say they binge drink

One in 10 (10.2 percent) pregnant women in the United States ages 18 to 44 years reports drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. In addition, 3.1 percent of pregnant women report binge drinking – defined as 4 or more alcoholic beverages on one occasion. This means that about a third of women who consume alcohol during pregnancy engage in binge drinking according to a report in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

“We know that alcohol use during pregnancy can cause birth defects and developmental disabilities in babies, as well as an increased risk of other pregnancy problems, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, and prematurity,” said Coleen Boyle, Ph.D., director of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “This is an important reminder that women should not drink any alcohol while pregnant. It’s just not worth the risk.”

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. FASDs are completely preventable: if a woman does not drink alcohol during pregnancy, her child has zero risk of an FASD

The study used data from CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-based, landline and cell phone survey of the U.S. population. To estimate the prevalence of alcohol use and binge drinking, researchers used 2011-2013 BRFSS data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia for women aged 18-44 years.

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