Postpartum and Alcohol-Related Factors Associated With the Relapse of Risky Drinking

Abstract

Objective-The purposes of this investigation were (1) to describe postpartum drinking patterns among women who were frequent drinkers before pregnancy and (2) to identify factors correlated with postpartum "risky" drinking among women who were frequent drinkers before pregnancy.Method-Information was gathered through a self-administered questionnaire completed at the postpartum visit and a subsequent face-to-face interview of 381 women, recruited from 35 obstetric/ gynecologic clinics throughout Wisconsin, who reported frequent drinking before pregnancy. Multivariate analyses were used to identify correlates of postpartum risky drinking, defined as consuming four or more drinks per occasion (heavy episodic drinking) at least twice in the past 28 days or drinking an average of seven or more drinks per week.Results-Overall, 37.8% (n = 144) women reported postpartum risky drinking. Eighteen percent reported heavy episodic drinking only, 5% reported frequent drinking only, and 15% reported both behaviors. Postpartum risky drinkers were more likely than other women to have had a partner who engaged in risky drinking (odds ratio [OR] = 2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5-4.5), to have been unemployed (OR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.2-7.7), to have smoked following pregnancy (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.0-3.5), and to have consumed alcohol after the recognition of pregnancy (OR = 4.8, 95% CI: 2.2-10.6). Women who breast-fed their child were less likely to report risky drinking (OR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.2-0.5).Conclusions-In the postpartum period, health care providers may want to focus alcohol screening efforts on former frequent drinkers who are smokers, are unemployed, have a partner who is a risky drinker, or are not breast-feeding.

Perinatal substance use: A prospective evaluation of abstinence and relapse

“…The majority of research has focused on smoking relapse postpartum (Colman and Joyce, 2003;Gyllstrom et al, 2012;Kaneko et al, 2008;Park et al, 2009;Ruger et al, 2008;Tong et al, 2008;Tran et al, 2013;Yasuda et al, 2013), with only a handful of studies looking at postpartum alcohol relapse (Ebrahim et al, 1998;Fleming, 2007a, 2007b;Nayak and Kaskutas, 2004). One of these studies found that at six to 12 weeks postpartum 37.8% of women who were frequent drinkers before pregnancy reported postpartum risky drinking, with 18% reporting heavy episodic drinking, 5% frequent drinking only and 15% reporting both behaviors (Jagodzinski and Fleming, 2007a). Another study found that women who reported at risk drinking postpartum were almost six times more likely to have had at risk drinking prior to pregnancy (Jagodzinski and Fleming, 2007b).…”

Maternal Patterns of Postpartum Alcohol Consumption by Age: A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult Urban Mothers

“…Prevalence estimates of “any alcohol use” postpartum range from 30% to nearly 50%, and binge drinking range from 6% to nearly 20% (Jagodzinski & Fleming, 2007b; Laborde & Mair, 2012; Muhuri & Gfroerer, 2009). In addition to the well-established harmful effects of risky drinking (defined by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as consuming more than 3 drinks per occation or more than 7 per week for women) on mothers’ own health (Fan et al, 2008), two pathways have been suggested hypothesizing how mother’s alcohol use can pose a significant risk to the child’s well-being.…”

“…This indicates that maternal postpartum drinking patterns may be characterized by intra-individual differences in inter-individual change. However, to date, most empirical studies have measured maternal postpartum drinking information at a single point-in-time, usually short of one year post-delivery follow-up (Jagodzinski & Fleming, 2007b; Laborde & Mair, 2012; McLeod, Pullon, Cookson, & Cornford, 2002), with some exceptions (Bailey, Hill, Hawkins, Catalano, & Abbott, 2008; Wolfe, 2009). To our knowledge, no study has assessed maternal drinking over the potentially stressful period of parenting until children enter kindergarten.…”

“…Empirical evidence suggests that developmental patterns of perinatal alcohol consumption indeed vary as a function of maternal age at childbirth. For example, when compared to their younger counterparts, older mothers are more likely to drink during pregnancy (Meschke, Hellerstedt, Holl, & Messelt, 2008), but are less likely to drink alcohol within a short period after delivery (Jagodzinski & Fleming, 2007b). Limited evidence has found that age moderates the effect of risk factors on maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy.…”

Cost attributable to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the Canadian correctional system

“…Alarmingly, the prevalence of binge drinking (which is the most harmful pattern of consumption) during pregnancy has been reported to be: 7.4% in Russia (Kristijanson, Wilsnack, Zvartau, Tsoy, & Novikov, 2007), 8.3% in the United States (Ethen et al, 2009), and 9.5% in Sweden (Magnusson, Göransson, & Heilig, 2005). Moreover, the prevalence of alcohol consumption and binge drinking has been reported to be much higher among high-risk women (Jagodzinski & Fleming, 2007;Kelly et al, 2011;Muckle et al, 2011).…”