研究称，为了宝宝的心脏健康，准爸爸们应该在怀孕前6个月停止饮酒

研究称，为了宝宝的心脏健康，准爸爸们应该在怀孕前6个月停止饮酒

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has long been linked to congenital defects and developmental problems in newborns. Now a new study has found a link between a baby's congenital heart defects and their prospective parents' drinking before conception.

长期以来，怀孕期间饮酒一直被认为与新生儿的先天缺陷和发育问题有关。现在，一项新的研究发现，婴儿的先天性心脏缺陷和准父母在怀孕前饮酒之间存在联系。

Compared to non-drinkers, fathers who drank during the three months before conception were 44% more likely to have babies born with congenital heart disease.

与不饮酒者相比，在怀孕前三个月饮酒的父亲生下患有先天性心脏病的婴儿的可能性要高出44%。

Congenital heart defects affect nearly 1% of all newborns each year in the United States. That's about 40.000 babies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the defect is on the rise.

在美国，每年有近1%的新生儿患有先天性心脏病。根据美国疾病控制与预防中心的数据，大约有4万名婴儿患有这种疾病，而且患病人数还在上升。

If the prospective dads were binge drinkers, which was defined as downing five or more drinks per session, there was a 52% higher likelihood their baby would have a congenital heart defect.

如果这些准爸爸是酗酒的人，也就是说每次喝5杯或更多的酒，那么他们的孩子患先天性心脏病的可能性就高出52%。

Previous research has shown that alcohol exposure changes the DNA in developing sperm and changes sperm activity, although the underlying mechanisms are not yet understood.

此前的研究表明，酒精会改变精子发育过程中的DNA和精子活动，但其潜在机制尚不清楚。

For mothers who drank or binge-drank before conception, there was a 16% higher risk for their babies, compared to not drinking.

对于那些在怀孕前饮酒或酗酒的母亲来说，与不饮酒的母亲相比，她们的孩子患病的风险要高出16%。

The study, published Thursday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, was a meta analysis and review of existing studies on the topic, and can only show an association between drinking and birth defects, not a causation.

周四发表在《欧洲预防心脏病学杂志》上的这项研究，是对这一课题现有研究的综合分析和综述，只能说明饮酒与出生缺陷之间的关系，而非因果关系。

"Binge drinking by would-be parents is a high risk and dangerous behaviour that not only may increase the chance of their baby being born with a heart defect, but also greatly damages their own health," study author Jiabi Qin, of Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China, said in a statement.

研究报告作者、中国长沙中南大学湘雅公共卫生学院的秦老师在一份声明中说：“准父母酗酒是一种高风险和危险的行为，不仅可能增加孩子心脏缺陷的几率，而且会严重损害自己的健康。”

Of course, no one can predict when they might conceive. To be safe, Qin said, the results suggest that men should not consume alcohol for at least six months before fertilization, while women should stop drinking alcohol one year before, and avoid it while pregnant.

当然，没人能预测他们什么时候会怀孕。秦说，为了安全起见，研究结果建议男性在受精前至少六个月不要饮酒，而女性则应在怀孕前一年停止饮酒，并在怀孕期间避免饮酒。

Both the CDC and the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists say women should completely avoid alcoholic drinks when trying to conceive.

美国疾病控制与预防中心和美国妇产科医师协会都表示，女性在尝试怀孕时应该完全避免酒精饮料。

Previous studies looking at the link between alcohol consumption before conception and congenital heart disease had focused on moms-to-be, with mixed results. Qin said this is the first analysis to examine the role of paternal alcohol drinking before conception.

先前的研究关注怀孕前饮酒与先天性心脏病之间的关系，主要关注准妈妈，结果有好有坏。秦说，这是首次对父亲在怀孕前饮酒的作用进行分析。

Birth defects occur in one out of every 33 babies and are the leading cause of infant death, according to the CDC. A congenital heart defect is the most common type of birth defect, and according to the CDC, about 30% of babies born with one also have other physical problems or developmental or cognitive disorders.

美国疾病控制与预防中心的数据显示，每33个婴儿中就有1个存在出生缺陷，这是导致婴儿死亡的主要原因。先天性心脏缺陷是最常见的出生缺陷类型，根据美国疾病控制与预防中心的数据，大约30%患有先天性心脏缺陷的婴儿还存在其他身体问题或发育或认知障碍。