Headline in the Irish DailyMail today: One is five mothers risks babies’ health by drinking or smoking.
Cutting to the chase, it seems that wine is the vice of those with the highest education and smoking is the vice of those with less formal education. Is this because it is still somewhat acceptable within certain circles to be seen “nursing” a glass of wine while pregnant, while it’s less so to be seen puffing away on a fag? Or do the findings reveal something about the importance of the role of wine in a woman’s life, so much so that it’s difficult to abstain during pregnancy?
Anyhow, the jury’s still out on the effects of alcohol on pregnancy, due to conflicting results of various studies, though alcohol can cause birth defects if consumption is high. The evidence seems to be more clear-cut on the dangers of smoking which has been linked to premature or low birthweight babies. (Sheila Greene, TCD)
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