Pregnant Women With Health Insurance Are Less Likely To Drink Alcohol

Being covered by health insurance has been linked to lesser alcohol consumption in pregnant women, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. However, pregnant women's use of tobacco was not affected by insurance coverage.

"The widespread availability of health insurance through the Affordable Care Act may serve as a universal prevention intervention to help reduce prenatal substance use," said first author Dr. Qiana L. Brown, as per EurekAlert. Brown is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology.

Many Pregnant Women Use Alcohol And Tobacco In First Trimester

The researchers looked into 97,788 women aged 12 to 44 years old who took part in the United States National Survey of Drug Use and Health back in 2010 to 2014. Pregnant women comprised 3.28 percent or a total of 3,267 of the survey participants.

In an interview with Medical Research.com, Brown said that they found a larger proportion of pregnant women used alcohol and tobacco in their first trimester of pregnancy compared to the second and third trimesters. Meanwhile, health insurance in non-pregnant women was linked to lower odds of tobacco use but higher odds of alcohol use.

Avoiding Alcohol When You Are Pregnant

An article in Baby Center gave some tips on how pregnant women can "sneakily skip the alcohol." This is for pregnant women who do not want to give away of their condition when they are seen refraining from drinking alcohol.

Maggie Downs recommended getting your water or juice in red Solo cups in a party so people can't see what you are actually drinking, letting a bartender know so you will be given non-alcoholic drinks, drinking "mocktails", drinking non-alcoholic beverages on ice complete with a cocktail straw and finding alternative non-alcoholic drinks to serve if you are throwing a party.