Alcohol Intake and the Risk of Preterm Birth

Subject:	Healthcare Research
Pages:	1
Words:	436
Reading time:	2 min
Study level:	College

Variable 1		Variable 2
Name of Variable 1 (Provide Units or Categories)	Quantitative (continuous) or Categorical?	Name of Variable 2 (Provide Units or Categories)	Quantitative (continuous) or Categorical?	Appropriate Statistical Test to use	Corresponding Research Question	P value
Pre-pregnancy BMI (mean + SD)	Quantitative (continuous)	Drinker type (non-drinker or drinker)	Quantitative (continuous)	Two-sample independent t-test	Did the values of BMI more varied among the women who drank or did not drink before getting pregnant?	<.0001
Infertility, yes (%)	Categorical	Education > 12 y (%)	Categorical	ANOVA	Did the amount of education vary by mothers who drank and those who did not?	<.0001
Pre-pregnant intake of alcohol (drinker vs non-drinker)	Quantitative (continuous)	Smoked during pregnancy (y/n)	Categorical	Multiple Regression Analysis	Did smoking during pregnancy affects the child’s birth weight?	<.0001
Gestational week (mean +SD)	Quantitative (continuous)	Age of mother when the child is born (years)	Quantitative (continuous)	Multiple Regression Analysis	Did the mother’s age when the child is born determine the gestational week?	<.0001

An observational study titled “Alcohol intake among first-time moms and the risk of preterm birth: a cohort study” was conducted on mothers residing in Norway. Using various techniques, this study collected data on alcohol intake from prospective observational Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study questionnaire responses at 15 weeks of pregnancy. Babies born before 37 weeks were designated preterm births, which also collected data (Dale et al., 2018). These figures were obtained from the Norwegian Medical Birth Registry.

Data on first-time mothers’ experiences and alcohol consumption before a specific week of gestation is being gathered and analyzed. Besides, the researchers examined data collected after the child was born to determine what impacts alcohol induced on them. This study also evaluated the population and data. They focused on standard ultrasounds performed between weeks 17 and 18 of pregnancy (Dale et al., 2018). Additionally, they considered how many alcoholic beverages the mother consumed before the third month of pregnancy. They employed graphs and charts to display the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption.

One of the study’s potential flaws was how the charts were divided between pregnant drinkers and nonsmokers. It ought to have been divided into drinkers and non-drinkers. At the same time, this research was unrelated to drinking. The researchers’ viewpoints may become skewed due to categorizing them in this way. The mothers involved in this study represent all significant demographic groups (Dale et al., 2018). After undergoing a conventional ultrasonography assessment at a nearby medical facility, participants were selected for the study by postal invitation. Members were recruited for the study through a postal greeting after completing a routine ultrasonography assessment at a nearby medical facility.

Reference

Dale, M. T., Bakketeig, L. S., & Magnus, P. (2018). Alcohol consumption among first-time mothers and the risk of preterm birth: A cohort study. Annals of Epidemiology, 26(4), 275-282.