Potential Pregnancy Complications From Drinking Prior to Pregnancy

You might be gearing up for one of the most transformative chapters of your life: pregnancy. You’re trying to do everything right — eating well, taking prenatal vitamins, and staying active. But what if the choices you made before your pregnancy even began could still cast a shadow on this new journey?

Before you pop the champagne on the journey to parenthood, it’s crucial to understand how drinking before pregnancy could impact the future of your child. Let’s explore the potential complications that can arise from pre-pregnancy drinking and how you can ensure a healthy start for you and your baby.

Chronic Drinking Consequences: How Prior Drinking Affects Pregnancy

Alcohol impacts various stages of pregnancy including prior to conception. Understanding how helps protect the well-being of the mother and the baby. 

Alcohol and Fertility

Alcohol significantly affects fertility for both women and men, making it more difficult to conceive. For women, alcohol causes hormonal imbalances, leading to irregular menstrual cycles and even periods without ovulation (anovulation). Alcohol can also impair the health of our eggs. All of this means that alcohol can make it more difficult to become pregnant. It also can impair the success and health of the fetus. But alcohol doesn’t affect only women or the potential mother. 

For men, alcohol impacts fertility by reducing levels of testosterone, which is essential for healthy sperm production. Regular drinking is associated with lower sperm count and decreased sperm motility, which can impact successful conception. Research shows that even moderate alcohol consumption affects fertility. So, if you’re ready to start this new chapter of your life, making more mindful decisions about drinking can be a significant step towards a healthy future.

Alcohol and Conception

Conception refers to the moment when the sperm fertilizes the egg. It’s the first step of the pregnancy process but won’t lead to pregnancy unless implantation occurs. Implantation is when the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine lining. If implantation is successful, the pregnancy begins. It’s estimated that 50% of fertilized eggs don’t implant. On top of that, alcohol can interfere with the implantation process, making that percentage even lower. 

Drinking also alters the hormonal balance and disrupts the endometrial lining, which is crucial for the embryo to grow and thrive. Studies show that drinking after conception increases the risk of miscarriage and complications in fetal development. One study found that alcohol increases the risk of macrosomia and growth retardation, which are correlated with maternal metabolic disorders. Most of the time, women don’t find out they’re pregnant days or even weeks after conception, so they might continue to drink, not knowing that they’re harming the health of their pregnancy. But it doesn’t end here.

Drinking during the early stages of pregnancy also impacts the health of the mother. Maternal metabolic disorders such as obesity, hypertension, and gestational diabetes can have adverse long-term effects on the mother’s health, as they increase the risk of other health complications. Although conception is the first step of pregnancy, the serious consequences of drinking during this period underline the importance of avoiding alcohol during this time.

Drinking During Pregnancy

We’ve discussed drinking during the early stages of pregnancy, but drinking later on in the pregnancy is just as dangerous. Alcohol can cross the placenta and enter the baby’s bloodstream, interfering with critical stages of fetal development. The result could be a range of physical, behavioral, and cognitive impairments known as fetal alcohol syndrome disorders (FASDs).

FASDs can range from cognitive and behavioral problems, such as developmental delays, learning disabilities, and difficulties with attention and impulse control. Possible physical abnormalities include facial dysmorphia, growth deficiencies, and organ malformations. All of these severely impact the health and well-being of the child far beyond childhood. 

Studies show that even low-to-moderate alcohol consumption can affect fetal brain development and cause long-term effects on cognitive and emotional functioning. 

As we’ve learned, alcohol during pregnancy and even before the pregnancy can have lasting impacts on both the mother’s and baby’s health. But when is the right time to stop drinking?

When To Stop Drinking Before Pregnancy

While there is no exact timeframe to stop drinking before pregnancy that will eliminate all complications, generally, the earlier the better. An analysis on prenatal alcohol consumption suggests that women should stop drinking a year before conception and men should stop drinking at least 6 months before conception. 

But this gets a bit complicated, as sometimes it’s not an intentional decision to get pregnant. So, for women and men who are of childbearing age, sexually active, and aren’t using birth control, quitting or cutting back on alcohol is a good idea. Not only is it beneficial to your own health and well-being, but it’ll be beneficial when you do decide to start a family. 

What To Do If You Drank Before Realizing You’re Pregnant

Pregnancy is already stressful. The last thing we need is to freak ourselves out even more. If you’ve been drinking alcohol before you found out you’re pregnant, it’s important to stop immediately. Continuing to drink will only do more harm. 

It’s also important to schedule a medical appointment with your doctor. They may choose to run tests or use imaging to check the baby’s health. During this time it’s crucial to communicate with your doctor that you’ve consumed alcohol and that you’re concerned about your baby’s health. Having all the information will help them run the necessary diagnostics and develop a treatment plan if needed. They’re not there to judge you — they’re there to help!

Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy 

A healthy pregnancy can benefit from steps we take long before we’re pregnant. Now that we’ve learned about alcohol’s effects on pregnancy, let’s set ourselves up for success with these healthy practices: 

• Eat well. Eat a balanced diet and avoid foods that can be dangerous such as raw fish, processed meats, and unpasteurized foods. 
• Stay hydrated. Pregnant women require even more water than usual. Proper hydration helps the baby get essential nutrients, assists with building new tissue, aids digestion, and provides energy. It’s recommended you drink about 8 to 12 cups of water per day.
• Stay active. Exercise gets our blood flowing more, which can be beneficial to deliver nutrients to the baby. It can also aid with pregnancy symptoms such as constipation, pain, and swelling. 
• Get medical care. Proper medical care supports the health of the mother and the baby. Schedule regular checkups to reduce the risk of complications and treat prenatal issues before they get more serious.
• Avoid harmful substances. Harmful substances like alcohol and other drugs are detrimental to the baby’s health and development (not to mention our own health!). 
• Prioritize rest. We’re nurturing another human in our body, and that’s hard work. Getting adequate rest supports our baby’s health and our own. 

These positive habits apply to more than just women looking to get pregnant or who are already pregnant. Having a healthy lifestyle is beneficial for everyone! And while these tips increase the chance of a healthy pregnancy, a positive lifestyle overall is key!

A Healthy Start

The choices we make before pregnancy can have a lasting impact on our future health and the well-being of our children. Drinking before pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy complications, impacts fetal development, and can lead to our own health issues. While there isn’t an exact amount of time determined, it’s recommended to stop drinking at least 6 months to a year before conception. However, for those who aren’t intentionally trying to conceive, things can get even trickier. Quit or cut back on alcohol not only to embrace a healthier lifestyle but also to set the stage for a positive and thriving pregnancy.