NEWS: Bearing Responsibility

CULTURE: Bearing Responsibility

Why do I care about the rights of pregnant meth users? Let's start small.

For most "respectable" women, the main thing you'll be told when you get pregnant is "don't drink alcohol." In fact, let's grab a beer out of the fridge and look at what the warning label says:

Everyone who drinks has seen these warnings, right? So we all know — and when you're pregnant, your doctor will remind you — that pregnant women shouldn't drink.

Notice, in fact, that while pregnant women "should not" drink, non-pregnant women — and men — aren't told what they should, or shouldn't do. They're given the facts — drinking "impairs your ability to drive" and "may cause health problems" — and expected to make their own, informed, decisions. Pregnant women, on the other hand, are told directly what they should do.
There are two implications here: first, that pregnant women are less able than men or non-pregnant women to think for themselves; and second, that alcohol is more dangerous for pregnant women (or their fetuses) than it is for "normal" people.

The first implication — that pregnant women can't think for themselves — is obviously stupid and insulting. If you're like me, when someone tells you what to do, you're inclined to tell them to fuck off. But before we tell the "don't drink while pregnant" crowd to fuck off, let's see what the problems with drinking while pregnant actually are — after all, it's a Big Deal, this pregnancy thing, and we wouldn't want to let knee-jerk attitudes about being grownups (after all, we're pregnant! How much more grownup can you get?) affect our judgment.

So let's move on to the second implication. Is alcohol, in fact, more dangerous for pregnant women than it is for everyone else? To find out, I'm consulting Conceiving Risk, Bearing Responsibility: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the Diagnosis of Moral Disorder. I stole the title of this post from the book, by the way. According to the author, Elizabeth Armstrong,

Five percent of children born to alcoholics. That ain't much. I think it is fair to say, without dismissing the importance of FAS, that most "normal" women — the kind of women who read alcohol warning labels, who see doctors during pregnancy, who are inclined to think about what they eat and drink — do not have much to worry about. Alcoholics, by and large, don't read warning labels and are far less likely than most of us to get decent prenatal care (which may, in and of itself, be a big part of the problem). If you care about FAS, your primary concern should be helping pregnant alcoholics get prenatal care, which includes treatment for their alcoholism.

Finally, let's don't forget that most women don't realize they're pregnant for a month or two. By which point, if you've been drinking, you've probably already done the majority of whatever damage you're going to do. IME, that ain't much; I went out drinking with my friends every weekend for two months before I realized I was knocked up, and as far as I and my kid's teachers can tell, he's smarter than most of the other kids on the playground. God knows, at 10 lbs 1 oz, he didn't have low birthweight (supposedly one of the markers of FAS). He's reading at grade level, his math is well above grade level, and he can tell you how DNA works, what a metaphor is, and how to build a working rocket.

So yeah. I'm inclined to say that drinking during pregnancy — by which I mean, "drinking during pregnancy by women who aren't alcoholics" — is okay. I'm inclined to think that people who claim that there are "tons" of kids with FAS in public schools are talking out their asses. I'm inclined to think that people who give you the fisheye when you order a cocktail in your seventh month are judgmental assholes. And I'm inclined to think that a lot of the hype around women's "responsibility" not to drink while pregnant is a big, guilt-tripping load of bullshit.

Bitch_PhD likes a good fight, and thinks people who pass judgment on pregnant women need to be smacked.

You know, I'm fairly certain I have been told repeatedly - not as a suggestion - that I should not drink and drive. In fact, I think there are people waiting to grab me and stick me in a little concrete room for several hours (minimum) if I try to do so. So, your implication that you only get told what to do if you're a pregnant woman is complete and utter bullshit. The difference between "don't drink if you're pregnant" and "drinking can cause health problems" has nothing to do with some hidden agenda to victimize pregnant women and everything to do with crossing that line between things that affect just yourself and things that affect others. And we damn well better tell people what to do when their actions affect others, because generally people are selfish pricks.

Yes, of course, it's all a huge conspiracy to keep party girls down.

For the record, I see a huge difference between a woman who doesn't know she's pregnant and drinks or smokes, and one who knowingly "orders a cocktail in her 7th month."

Every friend of mine who has been pregnant has had their doctor tell them that having the occasional glass of wine or beer isn't going to cause any damage. Some have had drinks, some haven't. All children are doing fine.

I think it's more accurate to say that rather a lot of people are ignorant idiots which is fine as long as they're just harming themselfs.
But when they get pregnant it's worthwhile to at least give them a few (probably futile) pointers about the many stupid things people are inclined to do.

Not to mention that five percent sounds like a fairly significant amount to me. (give me 5 percent of your life savings and say "that ain't much")

I see a huge difference between a woman who doesn't know she's pregnant and drinks or smokes, and one who knowingly "orders a cocktail in her 7th month."

Really? Because sometimes those are the same woman. Like, for instance, me.

This is the correct answer.

Well, I should point out they stop after they realize they're pregnant.

Not to mention that five percent sounds like a fairly significant amount to me. (give me 5 percent of your life savings and say "that ain't much")

Learn to read: 5 percent of the children of alcoholics. Not 5 percent of all newborns.

I did read, and that still sounds significant to me. Or would you say it's only significant if it affects the majority of all children by alcoholics?

There is no evidence to show that a drink in the 7th month causes any harm. Its done in France all the time (and more and more in the states). In France, in fact, they tell women not to eat raw vegetables.

DRINKING TOO MUCH WATER CAN KILL YOU, FYI.

No, genius. If FAS only affects 5% of babies born to alcoholics, then what do you think the "significant amount" would be of babies born to women who have one drink, or two, or a couple a week?

+1

i just don't see why it's so hard to stop drinking for a few months out of one's life. i certainly don't think it should be legislated (as per the previous "meth babies" article), but i do think that a pregnant woman who carries a child to term has a duty to not engage in behaviors that present a risk of harm to the fetus, when such behaviors are easily foregone during pregnancy.

But it only kills a very small number of people, so I'm going to go ahead and polish off this 5 gallon jug of Evian. Because, y'know, the percentages are small which means it'll only happen to "that other guy".

You took the words right out of my mouth.

WTF?LOL!

There are tons of things that "present a risk" to a fetus, including driving in a car or living in a city. What is so damaging about a glass of wine or a beer?

I don't have a big problem with *a* beer once in a while *hopefully a dark one full of vitamins and minerals* but am not behind liquor during pregnancy.

Wine is ok if it's organic and sulfite free.

I'm not demonizing women who doing it, nor am I judging them. My personal belief is that it's a no in my book. I think women should be adequately informed on the effect that these things *may* have on an unborn fetus.

For example: Every inhale of a cigarette is robbing not only your body of oxygen, but their's as well.

*a side note about your previous article - a woman in this area was shooting meth during her first tri-mester. She carried her son to full term - he was born without a liver (and that's just the most shocking thing that's wrong with him). He will be on Social Security for the rest of his life - not to mention how miserable the rest of his life with be.*

ah, but the distinction is that to get anywhere, one generally must use a car. there are plenty of things that present a risk, but that are a necessary part of life. drinking alcohol is completely frivolous.

even if the risk of harm is small, it just seems irrational to me to roll the dice here when the only gain is purely selfish gratification, and temporary at that.

what percentage a risk do you consider significant enough to require legislation?

once that baby's born there's all kind of risks you just aren't allowed to expose it to, or you'll face having the child taken away and/or imprisonment. do you feel that the government has no right to ensure you carry out that same standard of care before the baby is born, and if so, why?

Let me point out first of all:

There has been, in fact, a lot of correlation and case study research done on alcohol and pregnancy over the last few decades. Not so with experimental studies; that's unethical. Without experimental studies, it's hard to be definitive from a scientific viewpoint.
It has been inferred, though, that drinking is most dangerous during the second trimester due to brain development.

Secondly, I don't necessarily disagree that it's okay to drink some. I will say that it often reflects upon the mother (or parents) ideals and self discipline. Take that as you will. I've had plenty of friends who drank occasionally during pregnancy, and plenty who didn't, and how their kids are turning out has less to do with that than the amount of sense they're being raised with.

But there are pregnant women who don't have enough sense not to down a 12 pack a night until the baby pops out. Those are the people the warnings were written for (although if you're too stupid to know better, what's the chance you're gonna read the warning).
Anyhow, this is just food for thought. Please don't get me started on modern parenting observances or television.

*If you reserve the right to raise an ignorant, asshole child, I reserve the right to stab them when they annoy me.*

well, considering that a woman has (at this point) a constitutionally protected right to terminate a pregnancy up until a certain piont, i'd say the standard of care is already different.

(i'm not using this to support a blanket license to fuck up your kid if you choose to have one, but it's a point i thought was worth mentioning).

Not long ago the BBC had a documentary about FAS and would interview expectant mothers for their opinions on drinking whie pregnant and what information they had been given regarding it.

One of the most disturbing was one of the women who got all defensive. She claimed that just because she was pregnant, she wasnt going to be "a hermit" I'm not convinced being sober means you can't leave the house or have any fun.

Then she topped that comment with "Of course doctors say its dangerous to drink while pregnant. They're paid to say that!"