Associated Factors of Drinking Prior to Recognising Pregnancy and Risky Drinking among New Zealand Women Aged 18 to 35 Years

Sherly Parackal, Mathew Parackal and John Harraway
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Sherly Parackal: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
Mathew Parackal: Department of Marketing, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
John Harraway: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: Nearly half of all pregnant women in the Western world drink prior to recognising pregnancy. The current study aimed to investigate the factors associated with drinking prior to recognising pregnancy among pregnant women and factors associated with risky drinking among nonpregnant sexually active women. The study was a cross-sectional survey of a random sample of women aged 18 to 35 years ( n = 1062) selected from the New Zealand electoral roll. Pregnant women (currently pregnant: n = 65; previously pregnant: n = 202) who were risky drinkers and who smoked in the year prior to pregnancy had five times the odds ( p < 0.01) and women who planned their pregnancy ( p = 0.05) and who used a community service card ( p = 0.004) had less than half the odds to drink prior to recognising pregnancy than their respective counterparts. Among sexually active nonpregnant women who consumed alcohol, those who smoked in the year prior to the survey and those who drank for social reasons, for mood enhancement or coping reasons had higher odds of being risky drinkers ( p < 0.05). Addressing risky drinking, especially in social settings, and smoking among women of peak childbearing age may mitigate the potential risk of drinking prior to recognising pregnancy.

Keywords: drinking prior to recognising pregnancy; contraception use; risky drinkers; smoking; alcohol exposed pregnancy; New Zealand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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