Home > The use of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks in pregnancy in the UK.

Maslin, Kate and Hopper, Heather and Shawe, Jill (2025) The use of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks in pregnancy in the UK. European Journal of Public Health, Early online, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf188.

External website: https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/advance-article/do...

Alcohol-free drinks [beers, ciders, wines, and spirits containing <0.05% alcohol by volume (ABV)], and low-alcohol drinks (between 0.05% and 1.2% ABV) are increasingly available and may be used as a harm reduction measure. However, it is not known what pregnant women think and feel about these drinks and how regularly they are consumed before and during pregnancy. A cross-sectional online survey was developed and piloted. Women ≥18 years in the UK who were pregnant, or recently pregnant, were recruited via targeted social media advertising. Of the 2092 respondents, 47.8% (n = 1001) were currently pregnant; 55.7% (n = 1167) were between 25 and 34 years, 90.0% were White (n = 1881); 6.1% (n = 128) were drinking alcohol at "increasing risk" levels (>14 units/week) before pregnancy. During pregnancy, 13.5% (n = 282) consumed alcohol, which was more common in the increasing risk category (P < .01). Alcohol-free or low-alcohol drinks were consumed by 71.3% (n = 1491) of respondents during pregnancy; 91.4% of the increasing risk category versus 69.9% of the lower risk category (P < .01). The most common reasons for consuming alcohol-free or low-alcohol drinks were "to choose a safer alternative" (71.9%, n = 1073) and "to feel included in social events involving alcohol" (68.8%, n = 1026). More than half of respondents (56.7%) thought there was insufficient information available about consuming alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks during pregnancy, with internet searching the primary source of information. Although alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks are commonly consumed during pregnancy, there are some safety concerns. Their role as a harm reduction measure in those who are drinking alcohol at increasing risk levels prepregnancy needs further investigation.


Item Type
Article
Publication Type
International, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
Alcohol
Intervention Type
Prevention, Harm reduction
Date
5 November 2025
Identification #
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf188
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Volume
Early online
EndNote

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