The World Health Organization has advised women of childbearing age, that is between the ages of 18 and 50, to avoid alcohol altogether as it could harm their chances of giving birth. The controversial guidance has been slammed as “unscientific, patronizing, and absurd” by critics, who claim that its inclusion in the WHO’s draft global alcohol action plan 2022-2030 is completely inappropriate.
- The WHO really wants alcohol consumption to be reduced or eliminated among most age groups. “Appropriate attention should be given to the prevention of the initiation of drinking among children and adolescents, prevention of drinking among pregnant women and women of childbearing age,” their guidance says. That includes a lot of groups, but oddly, no men. Hmm…
- What about women who don’t want kids? This blanket advice is obnoxious for many reasons, one of the main ones being that there are plenty of women who either can’t have kids or don’t want them and therefore have no reason to avoid alcohol in order to avoid the chances of harming a baby they’ll never have. It’s 2021 – how was this not thought about?
- Obviously, pregnant women should not drink. It’s common knowledge and makes absolute medical sense that any woman trying to get pregnant or who already is pregnant should not drink alcohol as it can cause major damage to fetal development or leave the baby with health issues after its born. However, that’s not what the WHO is talking about here. They’re advising any woman of any age that could possibly be seen as “childbearing” to avoid drinking at all. Pretty ridiculous, right?
- The WHO needs to seriously rethink its approach. The “sexist and paternalistic” advice is so short-sighted and ignorant that it beggars belief. As Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group, the UK’s social responsibility and regulatory body, said in a statement: “We are extremely concerned by the WHO calling on countries to prevent drinking among women of child-bearing age in their latest action plan. As well as being sexist and paternalistic, and potentially restricting the freedoms of most women, it goes well beyond their remit and is not rooted in science.”
