More than 1 in 7 pregnant women in the U.S. reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, according to a CDC study published June 11 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Researchers analyzed 2021-2024 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System among pregnant women ages 18-49. Here are five key findings:
1. Approximately 15.2% reported current drinking — defined as in the past 30 days. Nearly 5% reported binge drinking and 2.2% reported heavy drinking in the past 30 days. The figure represents an uptick from 2018 to 2020, when 13.5% of pregnant women reported current drinking.
Among those who reported current drinking, nearly one-third — 33.2% — also reported binge drinking.
2. Pregnant women who were not married had roughly twice the prevalence of current drinking, binge drinking and heavy drinking compared with those who were married, the study found.
3. Those who reported frequent mental distress showed approximately twice the prevalence of current and binge drinking and three times the prevalence of heavy drinking compared with those who did not.
4. Geographic differences were also significant. Pregnant women in Northeast states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) had the highest prevalence of current drinking at 19.9%, compared with 10.4% in the South (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas).
5. The CDC recommends routine clinical screening for alcohol use and mental health conditions during prenatal care. Community-level interventions, such as point-of-sale warning signs and alcohol sales taxes, may also reduce prenatal alcohol exposure, authors said, adding that no amount of alcohol use during pregnancy is known to be safe.
For hospital and health system leaders, the findings point to several opportunities, including routine alcohol screening during prenatal care visits and behavioral health resources for patients reporting frequent mental distress. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force already recommends screening all adults, including pregnant women, for unhealthy alcohol use, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends anxiety and depression screening at every prenatal visit.
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