Introduction:
Complete physical, mental, and psychological well-being is defined as health. The health of pregnant women is affected by various conditions. Mothers’ health affects the well-being of their child also. Food and drinking habits greatly impact the physiological conditions of women’s bodies. Alcohol intake is one such habit that plays a crucial role in health conditions. In the United States alone, 13 % of adult women are addicted to drinking. Therefore, studying alcohol’s impact on mothers' health conditions is important.
How Much Alcohol Is Safe for Consumption During Pregnancy?
Alcohol is mainly composed of ethanol and water. Between these two ingredients, ethanol has a deleterious effect on the body. Ethanol is metabolized in the liver and produces aldehyde as a by-product. Low ethanol concentrations produce aldehyde, a substance called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). This NADH is responsible for the defect in the metabolism of lipids, fat, and glucose. Chronic and excessive alcohol intake is metabolized via a different path, which causes the hepatic smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) proliferation (tube-like structures present in the liver cells). This leads to fat deposition in liver cells and fatty liver formation.
According to the United States Drug Administration, one drink per day or less than three drinks on an occasion during pregnancy is safe. While more than seven drinks per week or more than three drinks on an occasion is harmful.
What Are the Side Effects Of Alcoholism?
Alcohol affects various organs of the body and their functionality. As a result, the reproductive system and other systems lose their functionality.
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Cardiovascular System: One of the main side effects of alcoholism is hypertension. Alcohol increases the secretion of metabolic products like catecholamine (a type of neurohormone) and angiotensin Ⅱ (a hormone that causes constriction of blood vessels). Also, the function of baroreceptors (a regulatory portion of the brain that controls blood pressure) is impaired by the action of chronic alcoholism.
Alcoholism is responsible for impaired inflammatory mechanisms. As a result, a plaque-type structure develops within the blood vessels. Gradually fat, cholesterol, and other substances are deposited onto the plaque. This causes blockages in the blood vessels and narrowing of arteries.
Chronic alcoholism is responsible for various changes in the cardiac muscles. These changes are associated with impaired functioning of cardiac muscles and dysfunction in cardiac rhythm.
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Metabolic Disorders: One of the main side effects of chronic alcoholism is the disruption of metabolic activity. The activity of respiratory enzymes like lactate dehydrogenase decreases. Decreased beta-oxidation of fatty acids leads to the accumulation of aldehyde. Also, protein metabolism is impaired. Moreover, increased aldehyde oxidation leads to a rise in the reactive oxygen species.
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Effect on Kidney Function:
Alcoholism affects kidney function rate. As a result, less blood is filtered from the kidneys. This causes accumulation of fluid and electrolytes in the body. Urinary excretion of calcium is increased. On the other hand, the potassium and magnesium excretion rate is reduced.
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Effect on the Nervous System:
Chronic alcoholism is associated with increased ethanol levels in the body. This causes shrinking of brain. An altered inflammatory response causes increased cytokine secretion. This causes decreased blood flow to the brain and nerve fiber demyelination.
Such effects are harmful to overall well-being of pregnant women. Several complications, like urinary, cardiac, and digestive disorders, may develop during pregnancy due to the systemic effect.
How Does Alcoholism Effect the Female Reproductive System?
Chronic alcoholism is responsible for hormonal imbalance. The level of cortisol increases in the body due to alcohol intake. This reduces the level of progesterone level in the blood. This leads to an altered menstrual cycle and decreased level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH). Contrary to this, testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels are elevated. All these factors are associated with menstrual dysfunction and anovulation (not releasing of egg).
What Effect Does Alcohol Have On Pregnancy?
Alcohol can cross maternal blood circulation and reach fetal blood circulation within two hours. Alcohol produces toxic substances like acetaldehydes and reactive oxygen species (ROS) during its metabolism. These substances have teratogenic effects (harmful to the development of the fetus). This alcohol exposure is responsible for fetal, renal, cardiac, and craniofacial anomalies. As a result, several deformities can be found in newborns. These conditions are collectively known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) or fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). The clinical manifestations of this conditions are:
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Impaired Growth: The child's growth is hampered; they are often underdeveloped and underweight.
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Anomalies: Many facial anomalies can be observed in the child; these are:
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Flattened nasal bridge.
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Thin upper lip.
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Absence or excessive elongation of philtrum (a vertical groove present between the base of the nose and the border of the upper lip).
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Reduced opening between the two eyelids (palpebral fissure).
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Epicanthal folds (the inner corner of the eye is covered by the skin fold of the upper eyelid).
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Low nasal bridge.
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Deformed ear.
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Short and rounded face due to decreased lower jaw development (micrognathia).
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Presence of clefts in lips and palates.
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Renal Anomalies: Conditions like renal hypoplasia (small kidneys) or bilateral renal agenesis (non-development of kidneys) can be seen.
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Brain Atrophy: Defective Neural and Brain Development is one of the distinguishing features of this disorder. Due to atrophy of the brain and growth retardation, skull size of these patients are small. White matter deficits in the brain and its abnormal integrity, especially in the corpus callosum (a portion of the brain that connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres) are found in this condition.
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Developmental Delay: Delayed motor and speech development, and hearing impairment.
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Impaired Cognitive Development: The cognitive development of the child is poor with a poor IQ (intelligence quotient).
What Is the Mechanism of Teratogenicity?
Several factors are associated with the abnormal development of the fetus. These are:
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Oxidative stress is a principal factor among all. Ethanol is responsible for the formation of free radicals. These free radicals reduce intracellular antioxidant capacity. These cause damage to protein synthesis and DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) formations.
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Alcohol affects the function of prostaglandins, which disrupts the process of fetal development and childbirth.
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cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) is an essential factor for neural development. This factor protects the neural cells from cytotoxins. The level of inflammatory mediators like tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is increased by alcohol. This prevents the activity of CREB. Also, these inflammatory mediators are responsible for a reduction in neural stem cell proliferation.
Conclusion:
Severe alcohol addiction can cause severe systemic complications. High blood pressure, cardiac, renal, and liver problems are commonly seen in chronic cases. Apart from this, female reproductive health is also affected. The development of the fetus is affected by alcohol toxicity. Alcohol toxicity can also result in premature delivery, and stillbirth.
