Jill Duggar Stirs Debate With Photo — But Is Drinking While Pregnant Really So Bad?

Photo: Instagram/Derick Dillard

Pregnant Jill Duggar Dillard, star of “19 Kids and Counting,” recently sparked outcry after her husband Derick Dillard posted a photo on Instagram of the couple’s Valentine’s Day celebration —chocolate, a Bible, and two champagne glasses of bubbly. The liquid was seemingly apple cider (squint to decipher the bottle’s label), however, the reality star received an onslaught of criticism. “Very inappropriate,” wrote one commenter. “You shouldn’t post pictures of you drinking alcohol pregnant,” said another. “It’s dangerous for you and the baby.” Others defended the star by saying, “However you celebrate is your choice.”

STORY: The Great Debate: Drinking While Pregnant

Jill, who is due in March, hasn’t weighed in on the controversy, but drinking alcohol during pregnancy has always been a hot topic. One in eight pregnant women report consuming one alcoholic drink in the last month, according to a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report. And chances are, you know someone — maybe even yourself — who drank during pregnancy.

Jill Duggar Dillard and Derick Dillard. Photo: Instagram/Derick Dillard. 

And while no one believes that an alcoholic free-for-all is harmless, the research is frustratingly mixed. For starters, one October study published in the journal Pediatrics found that one in 20 kids whose mothers drank during pregnancy experience “fetal alcohol spectrum disorder” which include emotional or behavioral problems. One big reason: Women receive mixed messages about pregnancy drinking and without official guidelines, it’s easy to overindulge. Another study found that a bit of alcohol may even benefit unborn babies —according to University of Copenhagen research, mothers-to-be who drink “moderately” (defined as two drinks per week) have children with better mental health than babies whose mothers abstained completely. Yet, despite her findings, study author Janni Niclasen, a post-doctoral student, said in a statement, “I really think we should recommend abstaining [from drinking] during pregnancy. I really believe that even a glass of wine now and again is really damaging.”

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What’s more, doctors hold various beliefs about the topic. “The way I see it is: If you wouldn’t give a 2-month-old a glass of wine, then why would you drink a glass of wine when you’re pregnant?” David Garry, DO, associate professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, told WebMD. While Marjorie Greenfield, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, also told the website, “About one to two drinks per week is probably OK. But never consume more than two at a time or drink to the point of inebriation,” adding “a celebratory glass of alcohol is more than likely fine — for example, if someone is giving a toast on a holiday or at a birthday party.”

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Why can’t doctors agree? “We can’t unequivocally say any amount of alcohol is safe to consume during pregnancy because there is no ethical way to conduct randomized trials,” Isabel S. Blumberg, MD, clinical instructor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive science at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, tells Yahoo Parenting.

Just like food and (most) medications taken during pregnancy, alcohol metabolizes in the liver and bloodstream. And because the fetal blood supply comes from the mother, while drinking, her baby also experiences a buzz. Where it gets complicated is that every woman metabolizes alcohol differently (some become tipsy after two sips, others need larger amounts to get those warm and fuzzy feelings). Plus, what’s considered “a small amount” to one person can vary wildly.

“I usually tell my patients to avoid alcohol in the first trimester,” says Blumberg. Many women don’t feel “pregnant” in the beginning, so they may be more likely to overdo it. “Limiting alcohol during the first trimester is also a good way to set the tone for the rest of the pregnancy,” she says.

Clearly, there’s no end in sight to the alcohol-during-pregnancy debate, but using sound judgment is always smart.

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