Strategies for Reducing Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancies
Preconception Care: Helping Women Prepare for Pregnancy
While 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, this means that 50% of pregnancies are planned. Service providers can help women to consider:
• What are the reasons I choose to drink?
• In what ways is alcohol a part of my life?
• How would I feel about not drinking at all at the next party I’m invited to?
• Do I associate drinking with smoking, eating, watching TV or other activities?
Can alcohol use affect fertility?
Emerging research suggests that alcohol use can have both short- and long-term effects of fertility.
• Light drinking (1-5 drinks a week) can reduce a woman’s chances of conceiving
• Long-term heavy drinking can cause adult women to have irregular periods or stop ovulating, cause periods to stop altogether or lead to early menopause
• Heavy drinkers who become pregnant are more likely to have miscarriages
• Heavy drinking or binge drinking can lead to vomiting and reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills (emergency contraception is an option)
Click here to download the information sheet.