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Women question CDC's recommendations on alcohol consumption, pregnancy

Alcohol use and pregnancy: 

  • It costs the U.S. $5.5 billion per year
  • 3.3 million women between ages 15 and 44 are at risk of exposing a developing fetus to alcohol
  • No amount of alcohol is safe to drink while pregnant 

The Centers for Disease Control is recommending that sexually active women who aren’t using birth control abstain from alcohol completely.

The new prevention guidelines for alcohol use among women were published on Feb. 2, and doctors and nurses were advised to recommend birth control for women who consume alcohol and are also sexually active, although nothing was mentioned about men’s drinking habits.

Read our columnist's reaction to the guidelines.

The CDC aimed to highlight the easily preventable dangers that come with drinking while pregnant, specifically fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

“Alcohol can permanently harm a developing baby before a woman knows she is pregnant,” Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director for CDC, said in a statement. “About half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and even if planned, most women won’t know they are pregnant for the first month or so, when they might still be drinking.”

However, just days after Schuchat’s statement, she told the New York Times that the organization did not intend to imply women should “plan their entire lives around a hypothetical baby” and said the report lacked clarity.

“It’s important to note that women who are drinking during pregnancy are not trying to harm their babies,” she said. “They are either not aware of their risks, are not aware they are pregnant, or need help to stop drinking."

CDC representatives also apologized in a statement to BuzzFeed.

“In our efforts to make sure that women who needed the message could hear it, we weren’t as clear as we hoped to be and we offended people,” a representative wrote. “We are sorry and hope they can understand that our focus was getting this message to women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy and want to do everything they can to have a healthy baby.”

Despite these risks, some college-aged women said they found issues with how the CDC presented its findings, including the language and presentation tactics used.

“The CDC sounded forceful and sexist with the way the information was presented, I think,” said Sarah Williams, a sophomore communications major. “The graphs and wording made it sound like women were more vulnerable to violence and sexually transmitted diseases than men, and that alcohol should be off the woman agenda altogether.”

Without pointing to its underlying reasoning, a CDC graphic says that drinking too much can lead to STDs, violence and an unintended pregnancy for any woman. Though the CDC doesn’t mention rape or sexual assault anywhere in its campaign, this logic fits into a larger pattern related to the issue. On its website, it lists sexual assault as one of the short-term risks of consuming alcohol.

However, women and gender studies director Lisa Pellerin said the CDC notice is not a law, just a recommendation.

“I can see [the CDC’s] medical rationale behind this recommendation," Pellerin said. "Yes, many pregnancies are unplanned, yes, many women don’t know they are pregnant until four to six weeks in and yes, alcohol can be harmful to an embryo. It makes sense to make women aware that alcohol poses a risk to embryos, and that if they might possibly become pregnant — heterosexual, sexually active and not using highly effective birth control — they should take this risk into consideration.”

Pellerin said she sees how the recommendation, which essentially treats women as “pre-pregnant,” can come across as paternalistic, but women are free to ignore it.

“The CDC is hoping that women who may become pregnant, especially women who go off their birth control intending to get pregnant in the near future, will choose to restrict their alcohol consumption,” Pellerin said.

When women who are pregnant drink, alcohol can reach the fetus through the placenta and damage development, said Rachel Boyce, an Indianapolis-based obstetrician and gynecologist.

“Doctors should always talk to women and men about the dangers of mixing pregnancy with alcohol," Boyce said. “It shouldn’t matter whether a pregnancy is already underway – there’s appropriate ways to inform patients."

Alcohol use in pregnancy costs the USA $5.5 billion a year, according to the CDC. It can cause lasting physical, behavioral and intellectual disabilities that can last for a child’s lifetime, and there is no known safe level of alcohol at any stage of pregnancy. These disabilities affect up to one in 20 school children.

The CDC estimates 3.3 million women between ages 15 to 44 are at risk of exposing a developing fetus to alcohol because they drink, are sexually active and not using birth control. Even when women are actively trying to get pregnant, three in four continue drinking after they stop using birth control, according to the CDC report.

Tori Hickman, freshman undecided

"I think it makes sense, honestly. Alcohol doesn't have to lead to sex, and it might help women who don't know they're pregnant keep themselves and their child safe. It's a really interesting topic, and I think at least being aware about what alcohol can do or cause is important to think and talk about."

Kaylin Laws, freshman medical technology major 

"It sounds really extreme to me. I think there should be precautions about pregnancy and alcohol, but women usually know if they're trying to get pregnant or if it's a possibility, and I think most people have the best judgement to not drink if that's the case. But I think it's too much to tell women not to drink alcohol at all, even if they aren't on birth control. I don't think many people will follow a rule like that, even if it isn't technically being forced on anyone."

Henry Stumler, junior telecommunications major 

"The way this is worded makes it sound outrageous. It's kind of a slam at women. What if a woman gets raped while under the influence of alcohol? How do you judge that? What kind of light does this put women in? I think there's a lot of questions that come out of this, and we need to figure out how to address women, pregnancy and alcohol in a more positive way."


Aaron Brehm, junior telecommunications major 

"I think it's absurd to tell women that they can't drink unless they're using contraceptives. Even if it is a recommendation, there's nothing that holds men accountable, and it doesn't seem like the CDC it taking individual circumstances into consideration. I don't think this makes sense, and I don't think women should be put under this kind of scrutiny for alcohol consumption if they aren't taking contraceptives." 

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