Should pregnant women be served alcohol?
by Bex Appleton
A pregnant woman was questioned and reprimanded by a bartender when she ordered a light alcoholic beverage at an Auckland bar recently.
What use to be seen as a ‘no no’ for pregnant women now appears to be slipping into an acceptable trend, with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow being seen drinking a beer while pregnant with baby number two.
Studies show 50 per cent of women in New Zealand believe drinking some alcohol during pregnancy is acceptable. Furthermore, 30 per cent of which 80 per cent are teenage mothers admit to consuming alcohol while pregnant. 20 per cent admitted they binged during pregnancy of which 17 per cent were before they realised they were pregnant.
New Zealand has 500-plus new cases of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder/Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FASD/FAS) which is estimated to be costing us $3.5 million a year. It is also reported to be the leading cause of developmental disability worldwide. The disorders include brain damage, impaired cognitive development, abnormal head and facial features, central nervous and immune system problems, heart and kidney defects, and a low birth-weight.
The Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC) makes it very clear when you drink, so does your baby as alcohol is carried through the placenta by your blood stream.
Damage does not always occur when a mother drinks, it is impossible to know what level of damage or harm will occur and how much alcohol consumption will cause it. As little as 1 or 2 drinks have the potential to affect an unborn child. The risks of greater damage increase with the more you consume. The only way to be certain your child will not be harmed is to not drink at all.
The viewpoint of not drinking alcohol whilst pregnant is also shared and recommended by New Zealand’s Ministry of Health.
As it is recommended by our own health board, why is there no option for those in the hospitality industry to have the right of service refusal when and if their conscience agrees with this viewpoint?
A bartender is given the right of service refusal with a drunkard, why not a pregnant women if they understand the dangers associated with drinking alcohol?
A pregnant woman has the right to drink if she so wishes. But those serving should have the equal right to express their discomfort with serving a pregnant woman, and offer to find another member of staff who is comfortable.
But, at the end of the day I guess we’re all subject to our own conscience!