With 80 per cent of women in Ireland admitting to drinking alcohol when pregnant, Aoife Stuart Madge asks if we are ignoring the risks.
As a doctor and first-time mother, Maria 35, from County Down, wants to do everything in her power to give her 18-month-old son the best start in life.
While pregnant, she read up on all the childcare and pregnancy manuals, baby-proofed her home and made sure the nursery was decked out in the very best baby gear. Controversially, she also drank - not excessively - but just a couple of glasses a week over dinner. "I enjoy unwinding with a glass of wine and didn't see why I had to sacrifice that just because I was pregnant," she says.
And Maria is not alone. Increasingly Irish women are breaking the biggest pregnancy taboo and partaking in a drink or two - and it's educated women like Maria who are leading the charge.
Last year, a study funded by the Health Research Board found that 80pc of Irish women drank at some point during their pregnancy; while a separate study in 2010, titled Growing Up in Ireland, found that women with the highest levels of education are most likely to consume alcohol during pregnancy.
Maria is quick to point out that it is not a case of choosing to ignore official health warnings (earlier this year, the country's three largest maternity hospitals, The National Maternity Hospital, The Rotunda Hospital and the Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital, joined forces with Alcohol Action Ireland to launch a campaign in an attempt to tackle the problem), which advocate avoiding alcohol during pregnancy. Rather, it's an informed choice, she insists, and one she is capable of making. "I'm a GP, so I am well-placed to know what is responsible drinking. I've done my research, and I know that a unit a day or the odd glass of wine does no harm to an unborn baby."
Source: Aoife Stuart Madge, Irish Independent, 02/12/14
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