Alcohol consumption among first-time mothers and the risk of preterm birth The purpose of this analysis was to observe the importance between alcohol consumption and the risk of pre-term birth in first time mothers. The observational study focused on first time mothers identified as “drinkers” and excluded first time mothers identified as “non-drinkers”.
This experimental study involved pregnant women in Norway who had registered for ultrasounds during gestational weeks 17-18 in the years 1999-2008. The response of 40% of total agreed to participate in study. To be able to get accurate results, questionnaires were given to pregnant women asking the following questions regarding: gestational age (the specific date of last menstrual period), alcohol intake prior to getting pregnant and during the pregnancy, previous pregnancies, multiples, and health status were included. Other important questions were included such as personal support system, stress, exercise, previous infertility, demographics of the population, and alcohol intake were all used to enable qualitative results, such as using yes/no, strongly agree/strongly disagree. The importance of variable responses in regards to the purpose of the study, the women who participated were limited to women who were experiencing pregnancy for the first time, excluding those who gave birth before week 37 and prior to 22 weeks or after 43 weeks.
With multiple variables possible it became even more important to use reliable software that could generate accurate answers. The software that was chosen as the most accurate and reliable was PASW software, version 22.0 (SSPS Inc., Chicago, IL). With results from primary and secondary analysis, it was determined with the use of this specific software. A secondary analysis was performed to identify factors that could possibly affect the results of first analysis. This analysis included those females who gave birth prior to 22 weeks and what the alcohol intake was reported as. Additionally, responses where the mothers did not answer the alcohol intake during pregnancy question, were separately coded as a drinker and again as a nondrinker.
Therefore, accounting for any possible non-conformity within the results. Although the attempt to focus on the ‘perfect’ sample group and account for many variables, weaknesses within the study are present. All the responses were self-reported, therefore any personal or social bias regarding the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy could have affected the responses. In addition, the accuracy of the gestational period could be wrong where alcohol intake and pregnancy could overlap. Although a good attempt to have control over the variety of confounders it is impossible to account for every possibility.
