Search results

How Cultural Factors Shape Economic Outcomes

Counting Families, Counting Race: Assessing “Visible” Family Structural Change among Multiracial Families

Parents and Peers: the Cost of Gender Stereotypes

Informed Choices: Gender Gaps in Career Advice

How populations are shaped in the prenatal period

Cross-national research on population aging: challenges and experiences with the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS)

Examines nutritional impact of father outmigration

The Consortium on Race, Gender, & Ethnicity, Moderated by Dr. Diana Guelespe.

Background: While alcohol consumption is pervasive in the country of Georgia, the extent of alcohol consumption among pregnant women is yet to be examined. The goal of this study is to examine prevalence and correlates of alcohol consumption during pregnancy in Georgia. Methods: Using data from the World Health Organization’s Stepwise approach to noncommunicable disease risk factor surveillance in Georgia, this study examined prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of alcohol use among pregnant women in Georgia. The study sample of reproductive age (18-45) women was drawn from the STEPS, which is a large and nationally representative survey of adults with a 95% participation rate. Frequencies, multivariate analyses and related statistics were computed to describe and study associations among the target population and the odds of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Results: Only 66 individuals in the sample were pregnant. About 13% of pregnant women consumed alcohol in the past 30 days and nearly 70% of them engaged in binge drinking on at least one occasion. Pregnant women who were young, married, homemakers, living in two-member households and in the lowest bracket of monthly income had the highest likelihood of consuming alcohol and binge drinking. The study results were statistically significant (p< .05). Conclusions: This study reveals the magnitude of alcohol consumption and binge drinking among reproductive age women in Georgia. This study also shows prevalence and correlates of alcohol consumption during pregnancy in Georgia. The results identify characteristics of women who are most likely to use alcohol during pregnancy. Given that, alcohol use is a modifiable behavioral risk factor, the findings in this study provide the foundation for evidence-based prevention strategies that target pregnant and reproductive age women.

Michael S. Rendall, University of Maryland and Rachel Shattuck, U.S. Census Bureau; 2016-002