CDC: ~15 Percent of U.S. Pregnant Women Report Drinking in Past 30 Days

TUESDAY, June 16, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- During 2021 to 2024, 15.2 percent of U.S. pregnant women reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, according to research published in the June 11 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.Shawn A. Thomas, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of self-reported current drinking (one or more alcoholic drinks during the past 30 days), binge drinking (four or more alcoholic drinks on at least one occasion during the past 30 days), and heavy drinking (eight or more alcoholic drinks within one week during the past 30 days) among U.S. pregnant women aged 18 to 49 years using 2021 to 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data. Adjusted prevalence ratios were estimated and correlates of alcohol consumption during pregnancy were identified.The researchers found that 15.2, 4.9, and 2.2 percent of U.S. pregnant women reported current drinking, binge drinking, and heavy drinking, respectively, during the past 30 days. Pregnant women who were not married and those with frequent mental distress had higher prevalence rates of alcohol consumption."Community-level approaches that include providing information about outcomes associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy or address alcohol consumption among the general population might also help reduce prenatal alcohol exposure and prevent its associated adverse health outcomes," the authors write.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

CDC: ~15 Percent of U.S. Pregnant Women Report Drinking in Past 30 Days

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