"We're Advocating No Alcohol In Pregnancy"

Friday, 13 August 2021 18:16

Despite there being mixed messages over recent years, midwives in Jersey are advocating no alcohol in pregnancy.

Jersey's midwives are advising pregnant women or people planning to have children to avoid alcohol.

There have been mixed messages over recent years as to whether it's safe and what the safe limits of drinking alcohol during pregnancy are.

In 2017, experts said there was little evidence that light drinking harmed the baby.

But the NHS and other health groups say doing so increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, and your baby having a low birthweight.

Other risks include lifelong behavioural and learning problems, Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

"What people think is possibly a proper unit of alcohol, we certainly, for drinking at home, tend to have more.

"Our message is is because we're not consistent in that, and we don't know how much alcohol would affect the baby, the message would be no alcohol at this stage."

Jersey's midwifery and paediatric team will be repeating a 2019 study to look at alcohol intake in pregnancy, by testing the baby's first poo.

"That sample will go into a freezer. We'll freeze them until we've got enough sample size and then they'll be sent off to a specialised lab that will be looking for a metabolised bi-marker from alcohol which is called Ethyl glucuronide.

"They'll measure to see if there's any component of that in any of the baby poo at all.

"That will give us an indicator if women are drinking."

Guidance is being published on the government website to give pregnant women facts on pregnancy and drinking alcohol.

The Alcohol Pathway Team is also urging women to avoid alcohol in pregnancy and to speak to their midwife if they're concerned about alcohol use.