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Cited by 76Prenatal Substance Exposure EffectsSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesPregnancy and Medication Impact

Factors influencing women’s decisions to drink alcohol during pregnancy: findings of a qualitative study with implications for health communication

Open access
Meurk, Carla S, Broom, Alex, Adams, Jon, Hall, Wayne, Lucke, Jayne·2014·BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
DOI 10.1186/1471-2393-14-246PMC PMC4122767
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Despite Australian guidelines advising abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy, a relatively high number of Australian women continue to drink alcohol while pregnant. While some call for greater advocacy of the need for abstinence, others have expressed concern that abstinence messages may be harmful to pregnant women and their unborn babies due to the anxiety they could provoke. We present findings on women's deliberations over drinking alcohol during pregnancy, particularly their emotional dimensions, to inform debates about public health messages and practitioner-patient discussions regarding alcohol use during pregnancy. METHODS: Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 40 women in their homes. Our sample comprised women aged 34-39, drawn from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, living in the Greater Brisbane Area who were pregnant, or had recently given birth, in 2009. An inductive qualitative framework analysis approach was used to identify and interpret themes explaining why pregnant women choose to drink or not. RESULTS: Women generally described drinking small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy as being a low risk activity and talked about the importance of alcohol to their social lives as a reason for continuing to drink or finding abstinence a burden; sensitisation to the judgements of others was not widespread. Women predominantly assessed the risk of their drinking in terms of the kinds of alcoholic beverages consumed rather than alcohol content. In reflecting on the advice they recalled receiving, women described their healthcare practitioners as being relaxed about the risks of alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The significance of alcohol to women's identity appeared to be an important reason for continued alcohol use during pregnancy among otherwise risk averse women. Anxiety about alcohol consumption during pregnancy was not widespread. However, obstetricians were an important mediator of this. Health messages that dispel the notion that wine is a "healthy" choice of alcoholic beverage, that provide women with strategies to help them avoid drinking, that advise the broader public not to pressure women to drink if they do not want to, and educate women about the effects of ethanol on maternal and fetal bodies, should be considered.

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  • Meurk et al. found many women who drank alcohol in pregnancy had not appreciated the risk involved.

    “In a qualitative study of why women drink alcohol in pregnancy, Meurk et al. 99 found that many women who did so had not appreciated the risk involved, or lived in circumstances where healthy behaviours were not the norm.”

    From Overweight, obesity and excessive weight gain in pregnancy as risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes: A narrative review (2022) · cites this paper as [99]

    The Results (‘Risk perceptions in relation to identity as a driver of behaviour’; page not provided) say women were aware that alcohol could pose a risk to the fetus, but many considered the risk from some drinking to be low. The Discussion (page not provided) supports the role of social drinking norms, not the broader claim that these women lived in circumstances where healthy behaviours generally were not the norm. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Meurk et al. found many women who drank alcohol in pregnancy lived in circumstances where healthy behaviours were not the norm.

    “In a qualitative study of why women drink alcohol in pregnancy, Meurk et al. 99 found that many women who did so had not appreciated the risk involved, or lived in circumstances where healthy behaviours were not the norm.”

    From Overweight, obesity and excessive weight gain in pregnancy as risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes: A narrative review (2022) · cites this paper as [99]

    The Discussion (page not provided) finds that social drinking norms sometimes influenced women to drink during pregnancy, including women who might otherwise have abstained. It does not characterize their circumstances as ones where healthy behaviours generally were not the norm; the same section describes the women as generally risk averse and concerned about other pregnancy-related health risks. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The desirability of maintaining usual social behaviours outweighed the desirability of making a lifestyle change among women who drank alcohol in pregnancy.

    “The desirability of maintaining their usual social behaviours outweighed the desirability of making a lifestyle change. 99”

    From Overweight, obesity and excessive weight gain in pregnancy as risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes: A narrative review (2022) · cites this paper as [99]

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  1. The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/14/246/prepub

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Authors
Meurk, C. S., Broom, A., Adams, J., Hall, W., & Lucke, J.
Affiliations
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
  • University of Technology Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
Meurk, Carla S
ORCID
Venue
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2014-07-24
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
246-246
ISSN
1471-2393 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1471-2393-14-246
PMC
PMC4122767
OpenAlex
W1970987859
Cited by
75
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3
FWCI
3.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Australian Government
  • University of Queensland
  • Medical Research Council
  • Australian Research Council (DP1094765)
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (569738)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Pregnancy and Medication Impact
Keywords
prenatal alcohol exposure, pregnant women, health communication, risk perception, obstetricians, practitioner-patient communication, public health communication, wine consumption
MeSH terms
Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Australia, Choice Behavior, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Physician-Patient Relations, Pregnancy, Social Identification, Health Behavior, Risk Assessment, Qualitative Research, Health Communication, Social Participation, Alcohol Abstinence

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