Zero
The safe amount of alcoholic drinks you can have while pregnant is… zero. New research finds that even just one or two alcoholic beverages could harm your unborn child for the rest of their life. So, if you thought one cocktail at a birthday party, or on the new year wouldn’t hurt, think again. That one glass of champagne may cause insulin resistance, specifically in boys, which can lead to your son becoming diabetic later in life.
The Study
The study was conducted on rats and published in The Journal of Physiology. It found that a minimal amount of alcohol was able to increase the likelihood of diabetes in male rat offspring.
The experiment mimicked ‘special occasion drinking.’ Pregnant rats were given alcohol only twice during their entire pregnancy. During those two occasions, the rats’ blood alcohol concentration reached only 0.05%!
The Result
If the fetus was a male rat, the prenatal alcohol caused the rat to show signs of becoming diabetic around the age of six months. That seemingly insignificant drink resulted in the rat’s baby nearly becoming diabetic. Its insulin level reached a level higher than it should, making it challenging to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
Why Boys?
You may be wondering, “why only male rats?” The insulin resistance was sex-specific because of hormone changes as offspring grow into adulthood. Estrogen, the female hormone, protects against insulin resistance. Males have low levels of estrogen, so they lack protection against insulin resistance.
Another reason could be that during pregnancy, prenatal stress impacts the placenta in a specific way, depending on whether it’s a male fetus or female. This means, stress affects fetal development and growth differently depending on the type of placenta.
Conclusion
Don’t put your pregnant partner, friend, or family member in a position where they feel compelled to have to drink to be a part of a special occasion. Respect that they have to remain as healthy as possible for the well-being of their child. Do not encourage them to drink alcohol!
University of Queensland researcher Lisa Akison, senior author of the study, recommends not to drink any alcohol if you’re planning on getting pregnant. Also, if a woman accidentally becomes pregnant, she says to quit drinking immediately and get on as good a diet as possible for the remainder of the pregnancy. Hopefully, any drinks consumed during that first part of the pregnancy didn’t negatively affect the fetus yet.
