Ireland is driving pregnant women to drink, a new study has claimed.
Foreigners living here for more than a decade are three times more likely to consume alcohol than non-Irish women who have been here for less than five years.
Consumption stands at 7.8% among pregnant non-Irish women here for less than five years, the Trinity College and Technological University Dublin research found.
But this figure jumps to 23% among expectant mothers here for more than 11 years.
Co-author Rachel Palmer said: “In other countries they have quite good, healthy behaviours during pregnancy, they drink less and smoke less, whereas in Ireland, the prevalence is that little bit higher.
“So we’d want them to maintain their own traditional habits from home, rather than adopting the negative behaviour that some Irish mothers would partake in.”
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The study is the first of its kind in Ireland to look at “acculturation” – or the adoption of cultural practices – and maternal health behaviours.
Drinking during pregnancy is much higher among women who were born in Ireland.
Around 22% of the 9,153 Irish nationals consumed booze during their pregnancies.
This compares with 9.6% amongst the 1,597 women not from this country.
This includes the consumption of alcohol at any point during pregnancy and any number of drinks.
Within these figures, 11% of Irish women drank during their first trimester, compared with 5.8% of non-Irish women.
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During their second trimester, 15.9% of Irish mums-to-be drank, compared with 5.8% of foreigners.
During the final trimester, 15.5% of Irish women drank, compared with 5.8% of non-Irish women.
The prevailing drinking culture in Ireland could be to blame for the spike in alcohol consumption amongst non-Irish pregnant women, the study found.
