title: Women's frequency of alcohol consumption prior to pregnancy and at their pregnancy-booking visit 2001-2006: A cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  With evidence of offspring harms and concern for younger women's drinking behaviours, this study uses a hospital cohort to trend the use and changes in women's reported alcohol consumption.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine (i) the trend of women's reported alcohol consumption over time, (ii) whether any increases in the frequency of alcohol consumption prior to a pregnancy are accompanied by increases in the frequency of alcohol consumption in pregnancy and (iii) the characteristics of women consuming alcohol at these times.
  
  
  METHODS
  Midwives collected routine data on 19,699 women between 2001 and 2006. Data on women's alcohol use prior to pregnancy and at their pregnancy-booking visit were analysed using a non-parametric test for trend and with bivariate and multivariate tests adjusting for possible confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of women reporting at-least weekly alcohol use prior to pregnancy was 25.4% and 5.9% at their pregnancy-booking visit. A significant linear increase over time (p<0.001) was found in the rate of women aged 20 years and older reporting at-least weekly alcohol use prior to pregnancy. Tertiary-educated women were more likely to consume alcohol at-least weekly prior to pregnancy. Women aged less than 20 years were less likely to report at-least weekly alcohol use at both time points. Having more children and Asian ethnicity were associated with a lower risk of at-least weekly alcohol use at these times.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of women reduce their alcohol consumption once they learn they are pregnant, with some evidence this trend may have increased in recent years.
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, School of Population Health, Herston, Queensland 4006, Australia. Electronic address: ann.kingsburyhumphreys@uqconnect.edu.au.
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kingsbury
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, School of Population Health, Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education Centre (QADREC), Herston, Queensland 4006, Australia; Stellar Medical, Lowood, Australia. Electronic address: m_r_h@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hayatbakhsh
authors.affiliation: Mater Medical Research Institute, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia. Electronic address: kgibbons@mmri.mater.org.au.
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.affiliation: Mater Medical Research Institute, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia. Electronic address: vflenady@mmri.mater.org.au.
authors.forename: Vicki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Flenady
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, Schools of Population Health and Social Science, Herston, Queensland 4006, Australia. Electronic address: j.najman@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jake M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Najman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000639:trends; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000639:trends; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016387:Women's Health / Q000639:trends*
keywords: Alcohol behaviour; Alcohol drinking; Epidemiology; Pregnancy; Young women