Drinking During Pregnancy Weakens Bond Between Mother And Baby

April 23, 2009 by tanya
Filed under: Baby Health, News

Drinking during pregnancy has been found to weaken the bond between mother and baby, claim researchers.

It has also been found in the study, that pregnant women who consume alcohol take longer to recover from giving birth.

The study was carried out at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen by PhD student Eilidh Duncan.

Duncan carried out research on 130 first-time mothers who had different levels of alcohol intake during their pregnancy.

The study looked into how alcohol affected the delivery, amount of time in hospital after giving birth, delivery complications, bonding between mother and child, and post-natal alcohol consumption.

Non-drinkers were found to have a much higher level of attachment to their babies than in mothers who had drank.

They also found that even drinking as little as once a month could increase the time required in hospital.

Dr Katrina Forbes-McKay, a lecturer at the University said: “This research confirms that drinking even small amounts during pregnancy has negative outcomes for women.

“Alcohol use during pregnancy not only lengthens the mother’s stay in hospital, but can be directly associated with lower levels of mother-child bonding.”