HOSPITALS are offering pregnant women wine and beer despite doctors' alarm over the number of "booze babies" born with brain damage.
Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Chris Baggoley, wants hospitals to take wine off the menu in their maternity wards.
"It seems unbelievable that not long ago patients could smoke in hospital and, of course, this is now totally unacceptable," he told The Sunday Times yesterday.
"With all we now know about the effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, we must urge hospitals not to serve alcohol to women in maternity hospitals."
Australian Private Hospitals Association chief executive Michael Roff said most maternity wards offered wine with meals.
"My understanding is that most private obstetric centres would offer wine as part of the menu," he said yesterday.
"While it is on the menu, most women don't order it or take it while they're breastfeeding.
"It's a matter of individual choice."
Mr Roff said that fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in babies "requires ongoing consumption of alcohol during pregnancy ... so perhaps a glass of wine the night you're in hospital is not necessarily a bad thing".
But Prof Baggoley insisted total abstinence was the "safest option" for expectant mums, women planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding.
"I am very concerned that serving alcohol in maternity wards sends a very bad message to new mothers and I would urge hospitals to discontinue this practice," he said.
The Australian Medical Association warned that mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy could damage their unborn baby's fast-growing brain.
"Hospitals need to know 4that the appropriate amount of alcohol for a pregnant woman is zero," AMA federal president Steve Hambleton told The Sunday Times.
Even well-off women, who could afford a private hospital stay, might have a drinking problem.
"It's the first glass of wine at four o'clock, then another one getting dinner ready, then they open a bottle when their husband gets home," he said.
Liberal MP Sharman Stone, who initiated the federal parliamentary inquiry into fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, said offering booze to pregnant women was like letting patients smoke in hospital.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/...nu/story-e6frfkp9-1226518812016#ixzz2CZhNt31K
Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Chris Baggoley, wants hospitals to take wine off the menu in their maternity wards.
"It seems unbelievable that not long ago patients could smoke in hospital and, of course, this is now totally unacceptable," he told The Sunday Times yesterday.
"With all we now know about the effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, we must urge hospitals not to serve alcohol to women in maternity hospitals."
Australian Private Hospitals Association chief executive Michael Roff said most maternity wards offered wine with meals.
"My understanding is that most private obstetric centres would offer wine as part of the menu," he said yesterday.
"While it is on the menu, most women don't order it or take it while they're breastfeeding.
"It's a matter of individual choice."
Mr Roff said that fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in babies "requires ongoing consumption of alcohol during pregnancy ... so perhaps a glass of wine the night you're in hospital is not necessarily a bad thing".
But Prof Baggoley insisted total abstinence was the "safest option" for expectant mums, women planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding.
"I am very concerned that serving alcohol in maternity wards sends a very bad message to new mothers and I would urge hospitals to discontinue this practice," he said.
The Australian Medical Association warned that mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy could damage their unborn baby's fast-growing brain.
"Hospitals need to know 4that the appropriate amount of alcohol for a pregnant woman is zero," AMA federal president Steve Hambleton told The Sunday Times.
Even well-off women, who could afford a private hospital stay, might have a drinking problem.
"It's the first glass of wine at four o'clock, then another one getting dinner ready, then they open a bottle when their husband gets home," he said.
Liberal MP Sharman Stone, who initiated the federal parliamentary inquiry into fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, said offering booze to pregnant women was like letting patients smoke in hospital.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/...nu/story-e6frfkp9-1226518812016#ixzz2CZhNt31K
