The risk of miscarriage is increased by using weekly alcohol early in pregnancy

According to a study by researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), weekly alcohol intake by women during the first 5-10 weeks of pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage by 8%.

Survey results announced in American Journal of Obstetrics and GynecologyExamine the timing, amount, type of alcohol use during pregnancy, and how these factors are associated with risk of miscarriage 20 weeks before pregnancy.

The effects of alcohol use increase until the 9th week of pregnancy, and the risk arises regardless of whether a woman reports less than 1 drink or more than 4 drinks each week. Risk also does not depend on the type of alcohol consumed or whether the woman has experienced heavy drinking.

Most women change their use of alcohol after a positive pregnancy test, but consuming alcohol before recognizing pregnancy is common for both scheduled and unintended pregnancies. Half of the 5,353 women included in the analysis reported alcohol use during pregnancy and during the first week of pregnancy.

The median length of gestation to stop using alcohol was 29 days. Forty-one percent of women who changed use within three days of a positive pregnancy test had a 37% higher risk of miscarriage in women who stopped drinking compared to women who did not use alcohol.

“Reserving alcohol before and after conception or during pregnancy has long been advised for many reasons, including the prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome. Nevertheless, moderate levels of consumption are likely to be safe. Is often seen as,” Katherine Hartman, MD, VUMC Research Integration and Principal Investigator Right from the beginning A cohort in which participants were enrolled in the study.

“For this reason, our findings are alarming. The levels of use that women and some health care providers believe are responsible are harmful, and the amount that could suggest being safe with respect to loss of pregnancy is There is none.”

According to researchers, one sixth of pregnancies end in miscarriage, which results in significant emotional costs, leaving unanswered questions as to why a miscarriage occurred.

Biologically little is known about how alcohol harms early pregnancy, but it may be due to altered hormonal patterns, altered quality of implantation, increased oxidative stress, or impaired major pathways. The risk of miscarriage may increase.

Because alcohol use is most common in the first few weeks-embryos develop the fastest and define patterns of organ development-understand how timing is associated with risk issues.

Risk did not peak in patterns associated with alcohol use at specific stages of embryonic development, and there was no evidence that cumulative “dose” of alcohol contributed to the level of risk.

The study recruited women planning for pregnancy or early pregnancy from eight metropolitan areas in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Texas. Participants were interviewed during the first semester on alcohol use in a four-month window.

“We believe that the combination of the fact that the cohort is from a large, diverse community, collecting data early in pregnancy and applying more sophisticated analytical techniques than previous studies, has raised significant concerns. Alex Thunderman, Ph.D., is the first author of the study and is a recent graduate of the Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program.

To avoid an increased risk of miscarriage, researchers emphasize the importance of using a home-based pregnancy test that can reliably detect pregnancy before the period of absence, and when or when planning pregnancy Sometimes I stop using alcohol.