I appreciated the framing of Aaron Carroll’s piece on alcohol consumption during pregnancy. I wrote on a study on the topic in a prior post. Drawing an absolute line against alcohol consumption during pregnancy is very likely an indication of how we view risk and how risk averse we are as a society. But, I also think such an absolute position is influenced by social norms on alcohol and by what I see as society’s expectation that pregnancy requires a vow of asceticism. In this case, the conclusion that so many reach is that any risk of negative consequences post-birth requires that the action in question be avoided entirely.
In my world, you evaluate risk in an absolute sense but also relative to the benefit or reward. What benefit is the mother getting from the consumption? A decrease in stress? An improvement in her emotional well-being? Participation in group interactions? One may ultimately conclude that these benefits are outweighed by the risk, but shouldn’t these benefits carry at least some weight?
