Older, more educated U.S. women are much more likely to drink while pregnant, a new federal study concluded.
About 14 percent of pregnant women ages 35 to 44 reported having at least one drink in the previous 30 days, an analysis of survey data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. That compares with 7.6 percent for all pregnant women and just 4.5 percent for those ages 18 to 24.
Women with college degrees were also much more likely to drink during pregnancy, with 10 percent reporting at least one drink the previous 30 days compared with 5 percent for those with a high school diploma or less, the CDC said.
The study, of 345,076 women ages 18 to 44 conducted from 2006-2010, did not examine why older, college educated women drink more while pregnant. It could be that they have more money to buy alcohol or that drinking is more socially acceptable for that group, said Claire Marchetta, a CDC research fellow and one of the authors of the study.
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