QUENCHING THE DESIRE TO DRINK; SAVE THAT PREGNANCY

In many African homes, marriages have broken due to pregnancy and birth issues. Usually, the blame is shoved down the woman’s throat. Either she is unable to conceive or miscarriage has always characterized the aftermath of her conception. It is an unfortunate reality yet many women ignorantly or otherwise continue to indulge in the very factors that catapulted their miscarriage.

Miscarriages happen quite often to many women in Ghana. According to a 2017 health data, more than 10% of pregnant women experience miscarriages.

One of the foremost causes of miscarriages is alcohol intake during pregnancies – the focus of this essay. The menace also happens due to many other factors like infection, hormonal imbalances, age, uterine abnormalities, etc.

There is a strong relationship between alcohol intake while pregnant and miscarriage. In fact, statistics suggest that drinking even small amounts of alcohol while pregnant has a 19% chance of terminating the pregnancy.

There is a notion that as soon as a pregnancy is in its trimester period, the woman is cleared to drink alcohol. But this notion is a misconception and totally baseless. At no point during a pregnancy period is a woman supposed to drink alcohol.

David Platt, President of the International Mission Board once said that “There is a unique pain that comes from preparing your heart for a child that never comes.” It is a different kind of grief. No woman would intentionally want to experience such a devastating surge of emotions. For this reason and many others, there needs to be an intensified campaign to counter the widespread alcohol intake in our societies. The problem is that most drunks cannot quit just because they are pregnant.

The consumption of alcohol while pregnant can lead to a variety of disabilities referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). These disabilities encompass a wide range and are not restricted to, but may include the following: low body weight, poor coordination, hyperactive behavior, abnormal facial features, such as a smooth ridge between the nose and upper lip (this ridge is called the philtrum), small head size, poor reasoning and judgment skills, sleep and sucking problems as a baby, vision or hearing problems.

Alcohol has largely been promoted in the media and the public has accepted same. Though in most cases, a caveat is given that it’s not meant for children and pregnant women, it doesn’t necessarily stop them from joining the queue of drunks.

Every woman deserves to reap the intended benefits of their pregnancy. Neither their cravings nor addicted lifestyles somewhat incumbent on them due to external influences should prevent that.