Give your baby the best possible start and avoid the risks of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, you should not drink alcohol. If you are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is a safe choice for your baby.

 

Based on advice from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the safest option for women is to abstain from drinking if they are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding.

This is outlined in NHMRC’s Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from alcohol.  The NHMRC is currently undertaking a review of the guidelines – this page will be updated once the review is complete.

Should we drink if we are planning a pregnancy? 

If you’re planning a pregnancy, it’s important for you both to be in your best physical condition to increase the likelihood of conceiving a healthy baby. This means it’s a good idea to understand how alcohol can affect your chance of conceiving.

Drinking alcohol can affect both women’s and men’s fertility.  Research has found that even drinking moderately can increase the time it takes to get pregnant and reduce the chances of having a healthy baby.  You could be pregnant for a few weeks before knowing it.

Effects on women

Drinking even small amounts of alcohol can increase the time it takes to get pregnant.  Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can affect a woman’s menstrual cycle and ovulation, which can make it difficult to conceive.

Effects on men

Drinking alcohol excessively can decrease sex drive and performance.  Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can also reduce the amount of testosterone in the blood and increase the risk of male fertility problems.

Should I drink while I’m pregnant?

The safest option for pregnant women and their babies is for the mother to abstain from drinking alcohol.

Alcohol crosses from the mother’s blood stream into the baby’s blood stream and can affect the baby’s development.  If you are pregnant and drink then so does your baby and that can cause harm.

What if you drank before you knew you were pregnant?

If you consumed alcohol before you knew you were pregnant and have concerns, it’s important to talk to your doctor, obstetrician or midwife.

The risks of alcohol on pregnancy

Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause FASD. This is a term used to describe a range of conditions that result from brain damage caused by alcohol exposure before birth. Other effects of alcohol exposure during pregnancy can include miscarriage, still birth, premature birth and low birth weight.

Partners of pregnant women

If it’s your partner who is pregnant, it’s really important to support them to stop drinking alcohol.

Should I drink while I’m breastfeeding? 

The amount of alcohol in your blood is the same as the amount of alcohol in your breast milk.  It’s therefore recommended that you avoid drinking alcohol while breastfeeding.

For more information about this, talk to your doctor, obstetrician or midwife, or visit:

• Australian Breastfeeding Association
• FASD Hub
• NOFASD Australia
• Telethon Kids Institute
• Your Fertility

 

DrinkWise FASD Awareness Program – education resources

DrinkWise has created the DrinkWise FASD Awareness Program to increase consumer awareness about FASD and the importance of not drinking alcohol if planning a pregnancy, pregnant or breastfeeding.  The program includes educational brochures, posters and videos.

The brochures and posters provide information about the effects of alcohol and recommend consumers to talk to their doctors, obstetricians or midwives if they would like more information about the risks of consuming alcohol while pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding.

In September 2020, DrinkWise worked with Sally Pearson (Olympic champion and new mother) and Associate Professor Luke Burchill (Australia’s first Indigenous cardiologist) to promote the importance of abstaining from alcohol when planning a pregnancy, while pregnant and during breastfeeding, as part of International FASD Awareness Day (9 September 2020).

DrinkWise has also created educational videos featuring well-known personalities, Deborah Mailman and Aaron Pedersen.

These resources can be downloaded on this website or ordered via info@drinkwise.org.au. Further information about the resources and the DrinkWise FASD Awareness Program can be found here.

DrinkWise pregnancy brochure A4 Downloadable