Most health campaigns recommend abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy.
Some women nonetheless continue to drink at relatively high levels while pregnant.
Misconceptions appear to exist both about and among the study populations. Public health campaigns that recommend abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy have been, for the most part, successful. We wanted to know if they understand and believe the health warnings. We wanted to discover what misconceptions women might have about the risk of drinking during pregnancy, what drinking habits they might have during pregnancy, and we also wanted to look very carefully at their drink size. As many people are aware, heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause FAS, which is the largest preventable cause of birth defects and mental retardation in the United States.