MY RESEARCH GOING VIRAL
I am very honoured that my PhD-work has gained so much attention during such a short time. If only one person chose not to drink while planning to become pregnant, because of my research, then it has made a difference. If people just start to think and talk about this - they don't even have to agree, just think about it - then my three years of hard work (including every weekend, late nights and all public holidays while others have been celebrating Christmas and Easter) - has been worthwhile.
I know a lot of people believe this type of research is bullshit because "they were hammered when they conceived and their 3 year old daughter is perfectly fine" or "alcohol should be considered a part of our daily diet so this is impossible to achieve anyway" or "the embryo does not need any nutrients before it 'glues' itself onto the uterus so before that you can drink whatever you want to". Let me just begin with this. You are wrong. I am not saying I am right in every aspect of my research. But you are wrong. Let's agree to this: 1) How is your own "case-control-study" of you being hammered while getting pregnant and giving birth to One (so far) healthy child more significantly relevant than a well-planned and monitored study with high statistical power? 2) How can alcohol (being a teratogenic toxic substance) ever be considered as a normal part of our diet? and 3) Although it is incorrect that the early embryo does not need any nutrients because it has not yet implanted, this is not the point. The point is that alcohol can enter any uterus regardless fertilization/preimplantation state and it can change the environment in which your future baby is developing. I’m not saying it will impact on every single embryo being subject to early alcohol contact. I am just saying it May increase the risk of future diseases. So please, instead of being in complete denial of this, perhaps because you were hammered when you got pregnant or because you consider alcohol as an essential part of your diet. Just assume for 1 second that parts of this might actually be true (perhaps not all of it because media wants to create a wow-effect) – but still. Even if there is just a small chance you will harm your baby if you conceived drunk (although it is likely to turn out perfectly fine), that your baby as an adult may have a greater risk of developing diabetes or any other disease (although it may also be healthy for 100 years), would you still say it was worth it?
Media's job is to sell news. Our aim with research is to get closer to understanding how life works. I am aware more than half of all pregnancies are unplanned but there are also a great proportion of people planning their pregnancy with a glass of wine in their hands, being in denial, or perhaps not knowing any better. Our research is a small part of a big puzzle and it does not provide the answers to everything. If I with my research – which a lot of you will refer to as utterly bullshit – have made people talk about this subject, then I have made a statement that might give at least one child a better life. And then it was worth it…
For media coverage see below:
Daily mail:
