Fact Check: Does Alcohol Cause Low Birth Rate In Women?

London: The correlation between alcohol and human fertility has been stoked again by a political leader.

Poland’s ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has claimed that the country’s low birth rate is partly caused by overconsumption of alcohol by young women, reported AP.

Opposition leaders and other critics disagreed and were quick to pounce on the 73-year-old bachelor, saying that he is out of touch. They have also argued that Kaczynski is himself partly responsible for the low birth rate in Poland, a nation of 38 million people.

Critics said the low birth rate was due to restriction on abortion which has discouraged some women from seeking to get pregnant. Rising costs in Poland, where inflation is nearly 18%, is another dissuading factor for young people in raising families, they say.

The Polish leader remarked that the average man has to drink excessively for 20 years to develop alcoholism, “but a woman only two.”

There is no doubt that alcohol can be dangerous as it can pass to the baby from mother’s blood through the umbilical cord.

Medicine experts have said alcohol use during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth and a range of lifelong physical, behavioural and intellectual disabilities.

But there is no known safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

There is also no safe time for alcohol use during pregnancy.

Avoiding alcohol is the sensible option for woman once they get pregnant.