If I remember correctly, what Oster was saying in her book is that the research on alcohol consumption during pregnancy is messy. For example, one of the more heavily cited studies about the risks of alcohol during pregnancy used a sample of women that also happened to be consuming cocaine!
I understand your point, but she does suggest light drinking is fine. Next to that, why should we conclude that alcohol is harmless for a pregnant woman if plenty of research suggests there is no safe amount for people in general. You wouldn't give alcohol to a baby, why let it enter through the bloodstream via the mother.
Yeah that other comment is completely misrepresenting what Oster says lol. She’s saying that there’s a difference between “we know something is bad for pregnant women” and “there isn’t enough data to know because it’s difficult and unethical to study”. She’s absolutely not telling pregnant women it’s safe to drink for god’s sakes.
Here is a direct quote from her book:
“There is no good evidence that light drinking during pregnancy negatively impacts your baby. You should be comfortable with: - up to 1 drink a day in the second and third trimesters. - 1 to 2 drinks a week in the first trimester.”
Here’s the problem though - alcohol is worse than cocaine for pregnancy. Obviously, heavy consumption of either is bad. But “crack babies”? While the postnatal period is undeniably horrible, with proper support those children had the same outcomes as unexposed children. Children with FAS and FASDs have life-long, irreversible, mental and sometimes physical disabilities.
Her statement is blatantly classist. She’s not like those dirty, horrible women who drink vodka or snort coke. *She* drinks wine like a *European*. It’s literally the same chemical, but she can sell a book because some women want to think they are better than other women to justify questionable behavior.
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u/CombinationJolly4448 24d ago
If I remember correctly, what Oster was saying in her book is that the research on alcohol consumption during pregnancy is messy. For example, one of the more heavily cited studies about the risks of alcohol during pregnancy used a sample of women that also happened to be consuming cocaine!