{"id":3298,"date":"2019-07-18T16:22:46","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T06:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/cah\/?p=3298"},"modified":"2022-03-09T14:03:36","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T04:03:36","slug":"impact-of-becoming-a-parent-on-alcohol-consumption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/cah\/2019\/07\/18\/impact-of-becoming-a-parent-on-alcohol-consumption\/","title":{"rendered":"Impact of becoming a parent on alcohol consumption"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many people believe that during pregnancy and the perinatal period most adults reduce or stop drinking. Initially the transition to parenthood does have an impact in reducing alcohol consumption in women. However, a new study, led by the Centre for Adolescent Health\u2019s Dr Rohan Borschmann, found that this reduction in drinking did not last.<\/p>\n

The study, Alcohol and parenthood: An integrative analysis of the effects of transition to parenthood in three Australasian cohorts<\/em><\/a> found women\u2019s drinking levels increased twelve months after their child\u2019s birth and continued to increase as their child grew older. By the time their youngest child was five years old, women\u2019s drinking levels were almost the same as before the pregnancy. However, the birth of a child had little effect on the male’s drinking levels.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“<\/span>One of the important messages of our findings is that both men and women need to find different ways to put the brakes on their drinking during this time of life. The reasons why women increase their drinking during the first five years after childbirth need to be explored in future studies,” Dr Borschmann said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe traditional combination of marriage, mortgage and kids no longer has any impact on men\u2019s drinking, while making the transition to motherhood only prompts women to have a brief reprieve from drinking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Key highlights<\/h3>\n