A growing number of women in the United States are drinking heavily, and researchers say changing patterns of motherhood may be part of the story.
A study from Boston University School of Public Health found that women in more recent generations were more likely to binge drink or show signs of alcohol problems by age 35.
The research was published in the journal Addiction. The researchers were especially interested in whether delaying motherhood, or not having children, might help explain changes in women’s drinking over time.
Women’s lives have changed greatly during the past several decades. More women now spend longer in education, build careers, marry later, and delay having children, while some choose not to become parents at all.
At the same time, alcohol use among women has been increasing. This has raised concern because alcohol can affect women’s bodies differently from men’s, and women can develop some alcohol-related health problems after consuming smaller amounts.
For the study, researchers examined survey information from nearly 10,000 women who were 35 years old. The women completed the surveys between 1993 and 2019, allowing the team to compare several generations at the same age.
The results showed a striking change. Women who turned 35 in 2018 or 2019 were about 60% more likely to report binge drinking or symptoms of alcohol use disorder than women who reached 35 between 1993 and 1997.
Motherhood patterns had also changed considerably. Among women surveyed in 1993 to 1997, about 54% had become mothers before age 30, compared with only 39% of women surveyed in 2018 and 2019.
The researchers found that women who had not had children by age 35 were among those with a higher risk of unhealthy drinking. However, the findings do not mean that delaying or avoiding motherhood directly causes women to drink more.
Instead, parenthood may be one part of a much larger social change. Having children can alter daily routines, social activities, responsibilities, and opportunities to drink, while women without children may have different social and work patterns.
Changes in attitudes toward alcohol may also matter. Drinking has become a common part of many social events, while advertising and social media have sometimes presented alcohol as a normal way for women to relax, celebrate, or deal with stress.
The health effects can be serious. Heavy alcohol use can increase the risk of liver disease, injuries, high blood pressure, mental health problems, and several cancers, including breast cancer.
Alcohol-related deaths among women have also become an important public health concern. Researchers therefore say prevention messages should reflect the wide range of lives women now lead rather than assuming that most women in their 30s are mothers.
Better screening could also help identify harmful drinking earlier. Doctors and other health professionals can ask about alcohol use during routine appointments and provide support or treatment when drinking begins to cause health, work, relationship, or other problems.
The researchers say more work is needed to understand why alcohol use has changed so much among women. Future studies could examine the roles of work, stress, relationships, social media, alcohol marketing, and changing expectations around marriage and parenthood.
The findings highlight an important point: women’s choices about whether and when to have children should not be treated as a health problem. Instead, public health efforts may need to catch up with changing lifestyles and make sure that useful information and alcohol-related support are available to women whether they are mothers or not.
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