Alcohol Use

Alcohol use during pregnancy has been associated with both shortand long-term negative health effects for infants, including congenital malformations and mental retardation.48 Women who consume large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy have higher rates of low-birth-weight babies than do nondrinkers.41 While the evidence is mixed, alcohol use during pregnancy appears to be low among Mexican-American and Southeast Asian women.

Using food frequency data from two Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (the Hispanic HANES and the second HANES), Guendelman and Abrams compared mean daily servings of beer, wine, and liquor for 664 Mexican-American women and 1,156 White women across four stages of the reproductive cycle.46 On average, pregnant Mexican-American women consumed .02 daily servings of alcohol compared to .08 servings among pregnant White women. Interconceptional, pregnant, lactating, and postpartum Mexican Americans were far less likely than Whites to consume alcohol (Figure 9.3).

Vega et al., in their study of perinatal substance use among 30,000 women, assessed alcohol exposure at the time of delivery, employing

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urine toxicology screens.45 The study found that, in comparison with White women, positive alcohol screens were more likely among Latinas (6.1% vs. 6.9%; Figure 9.4). (A woman was considered positive for alcohol use if she had drunk at least 6 ounces of beer, 2 ounces of wine, or 0.5 ounces of distilled spirits in the period immediately before she was admitted as a maternity patient or had drunk larger quantities of alcohol more than a few hours before admission.) The high prevalence rates of alcohol use for both foreign- (6.7%) and native-born (7.3%) Latinas may suggest cultural prescriptions to use alcohol prior to delivery to better cope with labor. Available evidence based on self-reports supports Guendelman and Abrams's findings that Latina women, especially the Mexican born, are lower consumers of alcohol generally than White women.49, 51–54

A study of Southeast Asian women participating in the San Diego Comprehensive Perinatal Program revealed low prevalence of alcohol consumption.49 Furthermore, urine toxicology screens of Asian women at delivery administered in the study by Vega et al. showed fewer positive screens for alcohol compared to Whites (5.1% vs. 6.1%). Anecdotal information suggests that alcohol intake may be restricted to the time of

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delivery. For instance, cultural prescriptions among Cambodian women appear to favor alcohol use both prior to and following childbirth in order to “strengthen the blood.”55

While important, it does not appear that alcohol has nearly as strong an impact on low birth-weight and infant mortality as cigarette smoking.10 However, the low prevalence rates of alcohol consumption during pregnancy in immigrant groups does suggest a reproductive health advantage.