Beer is one of the most popular drinks in the world. It is consumed by both women and men, in the alcohol market there are many brands of drink. Studies prove that beer alcoholism is very popular. Many people consider beer to be a less harmful drink than other alcohol; others speak of its benefits, referring to its rich composition.
Beer alcoholism affects a large number of women. Sometimes it is difficult for them to give up addiction even after pregnancy. And then the logical question arises as to whether it is possible to drink beer during pregnancy, whether there is a dose that will be safe for the fetus and the expectant mother.
Maternity Beer
Warning the question of whether it is permissible to drink alcohol while bearing a child, you should immediately answer that it is absolutely impossible to do this. Beer during pregnancy negatively affects the development of the fetus, the well-being of the pregnant woman, and the functional activity of her organs.
Theoretically, every person knows this, but there are myths in society, thanks to which women in position ignore the ban on the use of this drink. And it is important to debunk these myths in order to emphasize the importance of refusing to drink beer in the perinatal period.
Beer composition
One of the most popular myths about beer is the benefit of its composition. A large amount of vitamin B, which is really present in the drink, helps to strengthen the nervous system, has a beneficial effect on the activity of the liver, the condition of the hair, skin and nails.
But at the same time, beer contains a huge amount of substances that bring harm to the body. Beer during pregnancy causes intoxication due to ethyl alcohol, which is contained in it, and cobalt, which is added to the drink by all manufacturers in order to create a thick and lush foam.
Cobalt has a destructive effect on the tissues of many organs, mainly the brain, liver and stomach. In this case, the harm extends to the health of the mother, and the condition of the fetus.
It is important to understand that the beer we buy in the store is very different in composition from a natural drink. Instead of the substance obtained during the fermentation of hops and malt, we get only a concentrate of these substances diluted with ethyl alcohol, cobalt and chemical components that help preserve the taste and appearance of beer.
Effect on the hormonal system
When a man drinks beer regularly, the activity of his endocrine system is disrupted, and the amount of hormones that we arbitrarily call “female” increases in the blood.
However, a diametrically opposite situation occurs in women. The number of "male" hormones, in particular testosterone, is growing, because the concentration of "female" hormones is falling. This is harmful for women who are not in the waiting period for adding to the family, and drinking beer during pregnancy is all the more dangerous for a woman.
Hormonal imbalance during the bearing of a child is dangerous by arbitrary termination of pregnancy, that is, a miscarriage. In order to normalize and stabilize the hormones of the expectant mother, the doctor prescribes a number of drugs. Usually, professional assistance guarantees minimal risk, but taking any medication may not be absolutely beneficial for a person. And if there is a chance to avoid it, this is exactly what should be done.
Pregnancy Impact
Beer is an alcoholic drink, so the issue of benefits and harms can be considered in terms of the impact on the body of not only beer, but also alcohol in general. The decay products of ethyl alcohol are dangerous if you drink beer during pregnancy for the entire nine months, but in the first trimester this drink can cause fetal growth retardation, various malformations of the baby, and even miscarriage.
Addiction to alcohol
A common problem voiced by pregnant women who do not stop drinking beer during pregnancy is the harm from stress that occurs in the body when alcohol is abruptly canceled.
Indeed, when a person develops dependence, the process of weaning from it should be smooth, gradual. But it is important to consider whether a woman really has alcoholism in a particular case. In the vast majority of cases, beer can be easily discarded.
Getting rid of addiction
But even if the pregnant woman experiences severe discomfort without drinking alcohol and decides that you can drink beer during pregnancy, this decision is incorrect. Firstly, the harm from a dose of alcohol is much higher than the discomfort associated with the inability to satisfy the desire to drink a glass of beer.
Secondly, it is quite possible to get rid of alcohol addiction by learning to properly manage yourself and your psyche. The human body is controlled by the brain, so a woman who wants to bear and give birth to a healthy child needs to master the skills of distraction from the subject of addiction. For example, compensate for the desire with other pleasant activities, relaxation techniques.
In order to help yourself cope with addiction, you can turn to a specialist - a psychotherapist who treats chemical addictions, a narcologist.
Nonalcoholic beer
There is a judgment that a great alternative to beer is its non-alcoholic counterpart. It has the same taste, which allows a person to "deceive" his brain, completely abandoning the use of alcohol, but without torturing himself with the need for refusal.
But if the patient asks her obstetrician whether beer can be used during pregnancy, if it is non-alcoholic, she will hear a negative answer.
The fact is that alcohol is still present in the soft drink - in a small amount, invisible to most people, but quite noticeable to the fetus, which suffers from intoxication.
Non-alcoholic beer is also a chemical drink, which includes a huge amount of chemicals: dyes, preservatives, stabilizers, foam formers. During pregnancy, a colossal burden falls on the whole woman’s body: the kidneys, liver work with great difficulty, and if these two organs can not cope with the functional load, then the heart.
Using non-alcoholic beer, a woman loads the body's filtration system with the need to remove not only the decay products released into the bloodstream by the fetus, but also the chemicals of the drink.
How to replace beer?
Patients often ask their obstetricians the question of how to replace beer over a long period of bearing a child. Among the options featured non-alcoholic beer, carbonated drinks, kvass.
Among non-alcoholic drinks, a pregnant woman can choose anyone, based on the following rules:
- the drink should not be carbonated;
- it should not contain caffeine;
- the amount of fluid used should be controlled based on the presence and severity of edema.
You should also be careful with the use of herbal infusions. Despite their undoubted benefit, pharmacokinetics, that is, the rate of excretion of active components, is poorly controlled.
Therefore, beer can be replaced with natural juices, mineral water, tea, dairy products.
Thus, the answer to the question of whether beer during pregnancy or not is rhetorical. To maintain the health of the expectant mother, to increase the likelihood of having a healthy baby, you can and should abandon the addiction to drinking alcohol.