Does drinking beer have any adverse effects on pregnancy?

Maybe in life, beer has become an indispensable drink for many people, but drinking beer is not good for health, especially for pregnant women. It is recommended that people who are preparing for pregnancy or pregnant should avoid drinking.

1. Alcohol is a good thing. Drinking less can help you relax, but drinking too much can harm your body and others. Alcohol is one of the more common teratogens in daily life. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause placental vasospasm and fetal hypoxia, which can affect fetal development and cause low birth weight or deformities. The harmful effects of alcohol on the fetus are mainly damaging brain cells, stopping their development and reducing their number, causing abnormal brain structure and function, leading to varying degrees of mental retardation and even cerebral palsy.

2. Tolerance and dependence. As time goes by, the liver's degradation of ethanol becomes more and more obvious (the duration of drunkenness is shortened). The brain adjusts the number and sensitivity of neuroreceptors accordingly to shorten the duration of sedation and intensify the effects of intoxication. The automatic regulation of dopamine secretion is disrupted, making rewards and bribes extremely sensitive. Neuronal cell membranes become rigid and their permeability decreases. To reach a state of intoxication again, the amount of alcohol consumed must be increased (tolerance), but at the same time the effects of alcohol will become more intense (sensitization).

3. Harmful alcohol can cause excessive calcium levels in neurons, make neuron cell membranes stiff, and disrupt the exchange of substances between nerve cells and the surrounding environment. A large number of nerve cells will die as a result. Various cognitive functions are affected as a result (especially memory, analytical ability and attention). Drinkers can develop psychological problems, anxiety, and depression. The overall toxicity can lead to cardiovascular disease, damage to nerve and muscle fibers, liver disease, and digestive tract cancer. Alcohol can also hinder the normal development of the fetus.

4. Alcohol can enter the fetus through the placenta and cause fetal alcohol syndrome. The characteristics of this child are protruding forehead, small palpebral fissures, strabismus, short nose bridge, deep lower nose, upturned nostrils, protruding ears, low weight, and developmental disorders of the central nervous system.

It is generally believed that the degree of harm of alcohol to the fetus is related to the amount of alcohol consumed by the pregnant woman and the month of pregnancy. The more and earlier you drink, the greater the harm to the fetus. If you want to have a healthy and smart child, it's best not to drink alcohol. In addition, drinking large amounts of alcohol can damage reproductive cells. If you have sex after being drunk, the children conceived and raised will also have low intelligence, hence the saying "don't enter the room when you're drunk."