Did you hate your nose as a child? Why Your Mom’s BEFORE Pregnancy Drinking Could Be To Blame
Did you hate your nose as a child? Why Your Mom’s BEFORE Pregnancy Drinking Could Be To Blame
If you hated your nose as a child, you could blame your mother.
That’s because drinking alcohol in the months before you get pregnant can change your child’s face shape, a study suggests.
Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam used AI to analyze 3D images of children’s faces between the ages of nine and thirteen.
Information about their mothers’ alcohol consumption had been collected years earlier through questionnaires completed by the women during early, middle and late pregnancy.
The photos show the average face shape of 3,149 nine-year-olds (top row) and 2,477 13-year-olds (bottom row) whose mothers drank only in the three months before they became pregnant (left column), only during the first trimester (second column) and during the first trimester or during all trimesters (third column). Results show that children whose mothers drank just one small glass of wine a week before becoming pregnant were more likely to have a stuffed nose, a shortened nose or an outturned chin, one study suggests. Red areas indicate where the face has sunk in more than average and blue areas indicate where the face protrudes more than expected
The team found a link between exposure to alcohol in the three months before pregnancy and facial shape.
Children whose mothers drank just one small glass of wine a week before becoming pregnant were more likely to have a stuffed nose, a shortened nose or an outturned chin, the study suggests.
The more the mothers drank, the greater the changes were.
Women who continued to drink small amounts during pregnancy further increased the likelihood of their children developing these facial features.
The results, published in the journal Human Reproduction, were true for children as young as nine.
But no significant association was found when children reached the age of 13.
It suggested that other environmental factors or growth patterns might lessen or obscure the changes as the children got older.
The authors said their findings are important because the shape of children’s faces can be indicative of health and developmental problems.
Professor Gennady Roshchupkin, who led the study, said: ‘It is crucial to emphasize that there is no established safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
“It is advisable to stop drinking alcohol even before conception to ensure optimal health outcomes for both the mother and the developing fetus.”
DO YOU DRINK TOO MUCH ALCOHOL? THE 10 QUESTIONS THAT REVEAL YOUR RISK
A screening tool commonly used by medical professionals is the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Tests). Developed in conjunction with the World Health Organization, the 10-question test is considered the gold standard for helping determine whether someone is abusing alcohol.
The test is reproduced here with permission from the WHO.
To complete it, answer each question and record the corresponding score.
YOUR SCORE:
0-7: You are within the limits of sensible drinking and have a low risk of alcohol-related problems.
More than 8: Indicate harmful or dangerous drinking.
8-15: Medium risk level. If you drink at your current level, you risk having problems with your health and life in general, such as work and relationships. Consider cutting down (see below for tips).
16-19: Higher risk of complications from alcohol. Cutting back yourself can be difficult at this level, because you are dependent and therefore need professional help from your GP and / or a counselor.
20 and older: Possible dependency. Your drinking is already causing problems and you could very well be dependent. You should definitely consider stopping gradually or at least drinking less. You should seek professional help to determine your dependency and the safest way to stop drinking.
Severe dependence may require medically assisted weaning or detox in a hospital or specialist clinic. This is due to the potential for severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the first 48 hours that require specialist treatment.