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Salud Mental
Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente
perezrh@imp.edu.mx

ISSN (Versión impresa): 0185-3325
MÉXICO

2007
Shoshana Berenzon Gorn / Martha Romero Mendoza / Marcela Tiburcio Sainz / Ma.
Elena Medina Mora Icaza / Estela Rojas Guiot
RIESGOS ASOCIADOS AL CONSUMO DE ALCOHOL DURANTE EL EMBARAZO
EN MUJERES ALCOHÓLICAS DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO
Salud Mental,enero-febrero, año/vol. 30, número 001
Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente
Distrito Federal, México
pp. 31-38

Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina y el Caribe, España y Portugal
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
http://redalyc.uaemex.mx

RIESGOS ASOCIADOS AL CONSUMO DE ALCOHOL
DURANTE EL EMBARAZO EN MUJERES ALCOHÓLICAS
DE LA

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO

ShoshanaBerenzon Gorn1, Martha Romero Mendoza1, Marcela Tiburcio Sainz1,
Ma. Elena Medina-Mora Icaza2, Estela Rojas Guiot1

SUMMARY
Alcoholism is among the main worldwide public health problems
and it affects men and women differentially. Several studies show
that, when compared to men, women develop more severe dependence, more family and social consequences and experience more
difficulties to stopdrinking.
Differences on the impact that substance abuse has on women’s
life and health are related to the roles, functions and social expectancies placed on them concerning the continuity and care for the rest of
the family. For this reason, alcohol intake constitutes a special problem
since it affects the health of both the mother and her offspring.
Alcoholic women have a higher risk ofsuffering obstetric complications during pregnancy, such as placenta insufficiency, intrauterine development retardation, early placenta detachment, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth and pre-term delivery. Alcohol abuse during pregnancy is also associated with low weight offspring, congenital abnormalities and further behavioral and learning difficulties.
In some countries, drinking during pregnancy isconsidered an
offense which requires legal action. In some cases, women may be
put in jail until delivery and lactation. In other regions, children
welfare authorities view drinking during pregnancy as a form of
aggression or neglect. Such measures prevent women from searching prenatal attention which in its case might lead to severe health
consequences for the mother, the embryo and thesociety.
Estimates of alcohol consumption during pregnancy around the
world vary considerably and figures range from 4.1% to 83%.
However, the variation might be related to the amount of alcohol
units and the period of time considered in each measurement.
A case-control study in Naucalpan, Mexico, found that 11% of
the women interviewees admitted having drank during pregnancy,
5% of the mothersin the control group and 2% of the case group
stopped drinking during lactation. Still, any of the considered variables was found to predict postnatal mortality through logistic regression analyses. Another study performed with data from the 1988
National Survey on Addictions documents that alcohol intake during pregnancy is a risk factor for congenital abnormalities (OR=3.4).
The availabledata about the risks associated with drinking during pregnancy in Mexico comes from research in general population, while little is known about clinical population. For this reason, the objectives of this article are: 1. to analyze the characteris-

tics of alcohol consumption in a group of women who sought
help to stop drinking, 2. to identify family history of alcohol abuse in this group and 3.to explore the consequences of drinking
on their offspring.
In this case study, interviews were held with 200 women who
attended two treatment agencies in Mexico City due to alcohol
consumption problems. The questionnaire used includes the Spanish version of the CIDI-SAM and other sections to explore
drinking during pregnancy and lactation, as well as family history
of alcoholism....