1 in 13 Pregnant Women Drink

Up to one in 13 women are disregarding warnings from health-care professionals and drinking alcohol while pregnant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered. According to a report released Thursday, 7.6 percent of pregnant women ages 18 to 44 surveyed said they used alcohol in the past month, and 1.4 percent said they were binge drinkers—regularly consuming four or more drinks at a time. These numbers are actually an improvement from past years, but still, women are ignoring the facts about the problems alcohol can cause for unborn children. “If you’re pregnant or even thinking about getting pregnant, stop drinking alcohol,” the March of Dimes warns. In 2005 the surgeon general first warned women who are pregnant or may become pregnant to stay away from alcohol.