CDC: Binge drinking unchanged among pregnant women

ATLANTA - The small percentage of pregnant women who admit binge drinking remained almost unchanged in the late 1990s, frustrating health officials who warn children are being placed at high risk for birth defects. <br> <br> A survey of pregnant women by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 2.7 percent reported binge drinking -- five or more drinks at a time -- in 1999, down only slightly from 2.9 percent in 1995. <br> <br> Overall drinking by pregnant women fell from 16.3 percent to 12.8 percent over the same period. <br> <br> A CDC birth defects expert, Doctor Louise Floyd, said the agency ios most concerned about frequent drinking and binge drinking because they are the patterns consistently related to adverse outcomes for the child. <br> <br> Prenatal exposure to alcohol can cause birth defects, mental disability and neurological disorders. The CDC urged health care providers to warn women of childbearing age about the danger of alcohol.