Lowering the drinking age would lead to more low-birth weight babies and unwanted pregnancies, says researchers at the University of Georgia.

They found that a drinking age of 18 would lead to an almost 5% increase in the number of births to 18-20 year olds. The likelihood of women under 21 having a low-birth weight baby increases by 6% with the lower drinking age. Premature birth rates are also increased by 5-7% in teenagers under age 18 when the drinking age is lowered.

Researchers used data on alcohol use during a period when state minimum drinking age laws were in flux from 1978 to 1988.

Does the potential for higher rates of unwanted pregnancies affect your opinion about lowering the drinking age?

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Post from: Blisstree

Lower Drinking Age = Unwanted Pregnancies

According to a Canadian study published in the August edition of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, women living closest to expressways , especially those in affluent areas, are more vulnerable to highway pollution and have a much higher risk of delivering a low-birth -weight baby than women who live further away from highways.

The study looked at 100,000 new births in the province of Quebec, which were recorded over a five-year span. Looking at Canada’s second biggest city, Montreal where
highways cut through affluent and poor neighborhoods alike, the scientists were able to make the socioeconomic comparisons between babies who were born with low-birth weights with those of normal birth weights. You can read more about the study and its findings here: Mothers From Affluent Neighbourhoods Living Within 200 Metres Of Highways Increase Odds Of Delivering Low Weight Babies By 81 Percent

Image: Newscom

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Post from: Blisstree

Living close to a highway could result in a lower weight baby