Women are regularly mistreated. Abused as a matter of fact. They are abused by women and men any time they are in the range of alcohol when they are visibly pregnant.
Everyone knows that a woman must not drink alcohol during her pregnancy. Everyone everywhere. And they say it publicly to every pregnant woman within a foot of alcohol.
Unfortunately this abuse of women is unwarranted and based on unsubstantiated evidence.
I worked closely with the national alcohol study group(National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) in the United States. One year they were trying to create a sample made up of women who drank during pregnancy so they could follow up on the ‘fetal alcohol syndrome’.
I worked with the people who searched the country for doctors who had alcohol consuming pregnant patients. Who searched the country for bartenders who were serving visibly pregnant women. They never found one, not one ordinary American woman who was drinking during pregnancy and could be found. They even went to AA meetings and asked for references and went to rehab centers and asked. No one could be found. Most women have no taste for alcohol during pregnancy.
So where did they find pregnant women who drank during pregnancy who created the data about ‘fetal alcohol syndrome’ ? Only on Indian reservations. Only on reservations where Native Americans were living.
Now a good study has been done in Denmark. Survey research studies done in Denmark on medical issues meet my standards for high-quality. The outcome of the study is reported here and the methodology for the study is mentioned here.
The findings are startling for three reasons. First, they show that women who drank a little, call it moderately, during pregnancy had children, as carefully measured, at age seven who were emotionally healthier than children whose mothers had abstained.
God dammit; feel free to drink when you're pregnant. Don't drink too much maybe a glass of wine or beer a week. Or a Tom Collins now and then as my wife did.
This study teaches us two other things that I think are relevant to having healthy children. The kind of woman who will drink a glass of wine regardless of what other people think, is a defiant woman who will have more interesting healthier children.
These same woman live their lives more fully. If you like a glass of wine now and then or a beer, do it. Women who lead full and enjoyable lives are going to have more interesting healthier children, regardless of alcohol.
I can be accused in this case of self-serving interests. I come from a generation where my mother and her female ancestors and my friends’ mothers and ancestors didn't hesitate to have a little bit of alcohol. I know we turned out fine.