Why we’re unable to quit alcohol despite health risks — Pregnant women

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Angela Onwuzoo

Some pregnant women who have been in the habit of taking alcoholic drinks before conception say it is difficult for them to quit the act during pregnancy despite its possible health risks to their unborn babies. They shared their experiences with PUNCH HealthWise. ANGELA ONWUZOO reports

Some pregnant women residents in Lagos State have said that abstaining from alcoholic drinks during pregnancy is difficult for them having been so used to it before conception.

The expectant mothers said the constant urge to drink makes them disregard repeated warnings by their physicians that alcohol consumption during pregnancy is bad and could affect the brain development of their babies.

This is a cause for concern, physicians say. They warned that the habit may increase Nigeria’s already high infant mortality rate.

Some of the pregnant women told PUNCH HealthWise that they have slightly reduced the quantity of alcoholic drinks they consume but noted that they still consume their favourite brands of alcoholic drinks whenever they want to enjoy themselves. 

A 28-year-old mother of two, who is pregnant with her third child and simply identified herself as Ada for fear of stigmatisation told our correspondent that she started drinking beer when she was in secondary school, adding that she cannot stay away from it for nine months just because she is pregnant. 

Ada who is five months pregnant and operates a restaurant in Lagos said she grew up amid people who take excessive alcoholic drinks which influenced her to become a lover of alcoholic drinks even during pregnancy. 

Sharing her experience with PUNCH HealthWise, the Imo State Indigene said, “In my two previous pregnancies, I was taking my bottles of beer regularly although I was somehow afraid of the impact on my unborn baby because of what I was hearing.  

Difficult to resist 

“My doctor warned me about the danger of taking alcohol including my husband’s sister. But sometimes, I can’t help it and my husband is not helping matters. He is the type that drinks a lot also. So, most times, even when I say I will not drink, once I see him drinking, I will go and get a glass cup and join him. 

“I started drinking when I was in secondary school. I was 15 years old when I was first introduced to a bottle of beer. I started taking one bottle per day, gradually, I graduated to four bottles. My body can conveniently carry four bottles of beer or more without staggering.”

Ada noted that her upbringing and the nature of her parents’ business created the problem of excessive alcoholic drinks intake for her. 

“My parents operate a beer parlor in Owerri. So, when I was growing up, I assisted them in the business and the business was largely patronised by men who enjoy drinking. 

“Sometimes when the men buy drinks and pepper soup for themselves, they will also buy for me. My mother also drinks a lot. She drinks more than my father. She can finish six bottles of beer without staggering. 

“Also, because I make a lot of sales for my mother, she was always giving me access to drinks and to even make my choice. Beer of course is my choice, so I normally go for it,” she recounted. 

The mother of two told our correspondent that her intake of alcohol reduces her craving for food and weight gain associated with pregnancy 

Continuing, she said, “So, that was how I developed the habit of excessive alcoholic drinks intake which has not been easy for me to discontinue during pregnancy. I take at least two bottles of beer a week and whenever I take a bottle of beer, it will reduce my appetite for food and also makes me not throw up.  

“There is nothing wrong with my two kids. But I am slowing down on my alcohol intake in this third pregnancy because my doctor warned me to stop thinking. 

“He told me that the impact could manifest later. I will try and resist the urge to take alcohol in excess but not to abstain from it because it is not going to be easy.

“What some people don’t know is that it is easier for women that have not been drinking or that are not heavy drinkers to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy than those who have been in the habit before conceiving. 

“Such people can easily look away from alcoholic drinks but not heavy drinkers like us, it is not going to be easy at all. We have to tell ourselves the truth”.

A pregnant woman with a beer. Photo credit: Narconon

Alcoholic drinks intake during pregnancy leading cause of birth defects 

Data from the American Addiction Centers showed that using alcohol during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of birth defects. 

“Pregnant women and those trying to become pregnant should avoid alcohol completely until after the baby is born. Despite varying guidelines, there is simply no safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

“Drinking alcohol of any kind during pregnancy can cause premature labour, miscarriage, stillbirth, and a range of developmental, physical, mental, and emotional disabilities and disorders in the baby, collectively referred to as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders,” the centre warned. 

Physicians have also decried the attitude of some women who underestimate the impact of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and still indulge in the act. 

A general medical practitioner, Dr. Makinde Akinlemibola said it was unfortunate that women are taking alcohol during pregnancy, citing its negative consequences, especially on the child. 

Akinlemibola who is the Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners, explained, “We have been experiencing it. You see, there are very terrible effects of alcohol on both the mother and the baby that is unborn in terms of proper development of the brain. 

“So, the people that are saying there is nothing wrong with alcohol consumption in pregnancy are either addicted to it and there is nothing that they can do about it or do not understand the effect of alcohol and are not bothered about it. 

Not aware of risks 

Another woman, Mrs. Wunmi Ishola, 32, who is four months pregnant, says her body tolerates alcohol during pregnancy. 

The trader and mother-of-three says she has been taking alcohol before pregnancy and has not seen any reason to abstain from it. 

“I am a lover of stout. My husband knows that I have no business with soft drinks. Before I got married, I can’t stay two days without taking a bottle or two bottles of stout. 

“But when I became pregnant with my first child and went for my antenatal care, we were advised to avoid alcohol until after delivery. But before I got to know that I was pregnant, I was three months pregnant and was drinking and enjoying myself. 

“So, when I was asked to stop by my doctor, it wasn’t easy for me. When I tried to abstain from alcohol for two weeks and could not make it. I continued to take it until I delivered.  

“When I tried in my second pregnancy to resist alcohol intake again and it failed, I didn’t bother myself anymore. So, I take it whenever I have the urge but I reduced the quantity. I take two to three bottles of stout per week depending on the urge”, she narrated.

Mrs. Tope Toye, 36, another pregnant woman who is seven months gone shared a similar experience. 

“Whenever I go to parties and events and they offer me a beer or any other alcoholic drink of my choice, I don’t say no. I have been taking alcohol from the time I was an adolescent. So, abstaining from it during pregnancy for nine months as instructed by my doctor will be difficult. This is my second pregnancy. I even enjoy it more when I am pregnant. That is the irony of it,” she said.

No amount of alcohol safe during pregnancy – WHO 

The World Health Organisation says the effects of alcohol exposure on reproduction and child health are overwhelming.

According to the global health body, a high alcohol intake can affect the ability to conceive as well as bring about pregnancy complications and impaired fetal development.

“Alcohol can interfere with fetal development and cause a range of disorders on a continuum of severity.  

“The most severe outcomes of prenatal drinking are related to the frequency of heavy drinking and pattern of drinking, the riskiest being binge drinking patterns.

“Timing of exposure also influences outcomes as certain stages of pregnancy, particularly in the first trimester, involve crucial developments in the fetus. 

“No amount of alcohol can therefore be considered safe during pregnancy,” WHO says.

The story is the same with other pregnant women who spoke with PUNCH HealthWise, as they said that only women who have not formed the habit of taking alcohol would be able to abstain from it in pregnancy.

Findings by PUNCH HealthWise, however, revealed that some pregnant women deliberately take alcohol for various unfounded reasons. 

Mrs. Sarah Idowu, 27, who is eight months pregnant said, “Towards the end of the third trimester, I normally take dry gin. Once I enter nine months now, I will start taking it. It helps a woman to deliver on her own by making the baby small. A friend of mine introduced it to me and it has been working. I used it in my first and second pregnancy and it worked,” the mother of two said. 

Two other pregnant women Mrs. Ngozi Chizoba and Mrs. Rosemary Ekpe, also said they consume a mixture of stout and milk almost every day to make the skin of their babies smooth. 

Alcohol harms unborn babies

Meanwhile, experts have expressed concerns that expectant mothers are still indulging in alcohol consumption, warning that they are harming themselves and their unborn babies. 

Speaking further with our correspondent, Dr. Akinlemibola, identified ignorance as one of the reasons why pregnant women drink alcoholic drinks during pregnancy.

The physician explained, “So, the people that are saying there is nothing wrong with alcohol consumption in pregnancy are either addicted to it and there is nothing that they can do about it or do not understand the effect of alcohol and are not bothered about it. 

“Now, if you are the kind of person that takes alcohol or even into cigarette smoking, the advice is that a few months before you conceive, you should stop it. 

And subsequently, after delivery, you should sustain that for the benefit of your baby. 

“From my experience, babies that are delivered by alcoholic mothers, their mental reasoning is stunted, they are not fully developed, and you will even notice signs of withdrawal by the time they are delivered.”

He frowned at the attitude of some women who disregard the proven effects of alcohol consumption in pregnancy on the baby’s formation and development. 

“Some women are used to taking a lot of alcohol during pregnancy. In my experience, it is not a common practice but we have seen quite a few of them addicted to it and it became detrimental to their babies and themselves. 

“When we advise them, they agreed with us. But the issue is that they will say it is difficult for them to stop. But we are still encouraging them to stop totally. 

Akinlemibola noted that it was a fallacy that mixing alcohol with milk and drinking it during pregnancy makes the baby’s skin to be smooth. 

He urged pregnant women still indulging in the act to desist from it in the interest of their babies. 

Also speaking with our correspondent, consultant gynaecologist, Dr. Stanley Egbogu, told PUNCH HealthWise that alcohol doesn’t serve any good to pregnant women saying, “What we advise is that they should abstain from alcohol. That is the baseline.”

Egbogu, who works at Nnamdi Azikwe Teaching Hospital, Awka, Anambra, stated that at any level, alcohol was not good for the baby.

“Normally, if a woman has not been taking alcohol, most likely she will not take it during pregnancy. So, you have a situation where most women may have been taking alcohol before even they got pregnant. 

“But someone who is an alcohol addict is always advised to stop during pregnancy. Alcohol affects every organ of the baby and might lead to a baby having a small head – microcephaly. It affects the heart, kidney, and liver of the baby,” he said. 

According to him, microcephaly is a condition in which a baby’s head is significantly smaller than expected, often due to abnormal brain development.

Egbogu urged pregnant women still taking alcohol to stop. 

Alcohol increases risk of stillbirth, miscarriage

Maternal health experts in the United States under the umbrella of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said alcohol consumption during pregnancy might increase the risk of stillbirth and miscarriage.

The gynaecologists warned that there is no known safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy;

The gynaecologists, in clinical information, published on the ACOG website cautioned that drinking alcohol during pregnancy could cause Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

The gynaecologists affirmed that the high prevalence of alcohol consumption among pregnant adults requires integrated, evidence-based interventions to prevent alcohol-related harms and address factors associated with alcohol consumption.

The maternal health experts said, “Alcohol use during pregnancy remains a problem leading to foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, a range of effects for a foetus that is exposed in utero, including physical problems, problems with behavior and learning, or a combination.

“There is no known safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy; drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and might increase the risk for miscarriage and stillbirth.”

They reiterated that alcohol consumption during pregnancy might increase the risk of poor pregnancy and birth outcomes.

Speaking further, the gynaecologists said alcohol consumption during pregnancy has continued to be a serious problem.

In a study published by The Lancet Public Health titled, ‘Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and overall morbidities: a Danish nationwide cohort study from 1996 to 2018’, the researchers said prenatal alcohol exposure is a global public health threat. 

“Heavy alcohol exposure interferes with normal fetal development and can lead to adverse birth outcomes and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. 

“Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders is an umbrella term covering a continuum of lifelong disabilities, from mild to severe, with a variety of characteristic dysmorphic facial features, growth restriction, and cognitive and neurobehavioural impairment and malformations. 

“Foetal alcohol syndrome represents the most severe condition of these types of disorders. Furthermore, animal studies report prenatal alcohol exposure to potentially alter the development of most organs,” the researchers said.

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