Opinions of non-pregnant New Zealand women aged 16-40 years about the safety of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Introduction And Aims: Premenopausal women's opinions on the safety of alcohol consumption during pregnancy are not well documented. This study aims to assess the opinions of New Zealand women on the safety of alcohol consumption in pregnancy and the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with these opinions.

Design And Methods: A nationwide, cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2005 on a random sample of 1109 non-pregnant women aged 16-40 years. Data were collected via an interviewer-administered questionnaire using a web-assisted telephone interviewing system.

Results: Overall, 44% (95% confidence interval 41-47) of women surveyed were of the opinion that no alcohol is safe in pregnancy. Those who stated that no alcohol is safe in pregnancy were more likely to be of Pacific Island ethnicity (P < 0.05) and abstainers (P < 0.001). Women who drank more than two standard drinks of alcohol on a typical occasion and/or who binged were more likely to be of the opinion that 'more than one standard drink' of alcohol is safe on a typical drinking day during pregnancy (P < 0.001).

Discussion And Conclusions: The association of drinking style with opinions about the safety of alcohol consumption in pregnancy accentuates the need for public health education to reduce risky drinking behaviours in this population. Such efforts may also address the risk associated with many women unintentionally drinking in early pregnancy, especially if the pregnancy is unplanned.