Pregnancy and non-alcoholic beer
In spite of it’s alcohol content of up to 0.5% vol. — an
amount which can occur naturally even in fruit juices — non-alcoholic
beers have no alcoholic effect on the body. In fact, all carbohydrate-containing
foods form small amounts of alcohol in your stomach.
Because of the diluting effect of the relatively high water content
of non-alcoholic beers, their concentration of particles (such
as minerals and trace elements) corresponds roughly to that of
human blood. Therefore, these particles are taken up much faster
by the body than is the case with other beverages. This makes non-alcoholic
beers ideal electrolytes and mineral-rich, regenerative beverages
especially after strenuous activities such as a work-out or mowing
a lawn on a hot day.
For women who are pregnant or breast-feeding, non-alcoholic
beers are a completely harmless alternative to alcoholic beverages.
According to Professor Anton Piendl, they are even downright
beneficial, because they are rich in potassium, but low to very
low in calories and sodium, as well as fat- and cholesterol-free.
In addition, they can promote the formation of prolactin, a hormone
of the pituitary gland that stimulates the production of milk
during breast-feeding. Finally, the bitter substances from the
hops in non-alcoholic beer have a soothing effect.
If you need to have a drink of wine or beer, make
it ALCOHOL FREE.
Pregnancy and alcohol
Research from the Mayo Clinic, USA
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a condition that results
from prenatal alcohol exposure. If you drink during pregnancy, you
place your baby at risk of fetal alcohol syndrome.
The defects that are part of fetal alcohol syndrome are irreversible
and can include serious physical, mental and behavioral problems,
though they vary from one child to another.
As many as 40,000 babies are born with some type of alcohol-related
damage each year in the United States.
Causes
When you drink alcohol, it enters your bloodstream and reaches
your developing fetus by crossing the placenta. Because a fetus
metabolizes alcohol more slowly than an adult does, your developing
baby's blood alcohol concentrations are higher than those in
your body. The presence of alcohol can impair optimal nutrition
for your baby's developing tissues and organs and can damage
brain cells.
The more you drink while pregnant, the greater the risk to your
unborn baby. The risk is present at any time during pregnancy.
However, impairment of facial features, the heart and other organs,
bones, and the central nervous system may occur as a result of
drinking alcohol during the first trimester, when these parts of
the body are in key stages of development. In the early weeks of
the first trimester, many women may not be aware that they're pregnant.
Alcohol may affect the brain of the fetus at any time during pregnancy.
Prevention
Doctors haven't identified a safe level of alcohol that a pregnant
woman can consume. But, experts do know that FAS is completely
preventable if women don't consume alcohol during pregnancy.
These guidelines can help prevent fetal alcohol syndrome:
- Stop
drinking alcohol altogether if you're planning to become pregnant,
as soon as you know you're pregnant or if you even think you
might be pregnant. Your baby's brain, heart and blood vessels
begin to develop in the early weeks of pregnancy.
- Continue to avoid
alcohol throughout your pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome is
completely preventable in children whose mothers don't drink
during pregnancy.
- Consider giving up alcohol
during your childbearing years if you're sexually active and
you're having unprotected sex. Many pregnancies are unplanned.
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