About the episode
Not drinking during your pregnancy has been advice to women since the 1980s. This warning is now supported by piles of scientific articles. But, researchers now say: aren’t we forgetting the fathers?
Drinking during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome in the child. This has adverse consequences both physically and mentally. In the US, 1 in 20 children suffer from these consequences. Which sometimes makes for a life full of challenges. That also costs society money. In the US: about 10 billion dollars per year.
I know quite a few right-thinking women who drank a little during their pregnancy, because ‘half a glass now and then can’t do any harm’. Yet research now shows that there is no safe amount. Even a small intake of alcohol can have negative consequences.
Until now, men did not have to take this much into account. Of course, not drinking out of solidarity happened, but more and more research shows that the drinking behavior of men in the months and weeks before conception can indeed have consequences for the health of the child. Fetal alcohol syndrome can also develop in this way.
The researchers who are now demonstrating this fear that we still have a long way to go. Better understanding how this mechanism works requires mapping the drinking behavior of fathers. And that question is not asked or answered often and well enough.
Read more about the research here: Fathers’ Drinking May Affect Fertility and Fetal Brain Development
2023-11-25 10:02:56
#Increasing #evidence #fathers #drinking #behavior #influences #babys #health
