mommies gone sober

Posted by dana at 4:24 pm on Thursday, August 20th, 2009.

Gone are the days when mommies reach for their glass of little helper once Oprah comes on? Maybe not, but the horrific Diane Schuler incident from earlier this month did rock the mommy world (and the rest of the country) when her autopsy revealed she was three sheets to the wind before driving the wrong way down a New York-area highway and killing herself, four children and three other people. Diane was a stable and confident mom by many people's accounts, and her substance abuse issues seemed to have gone undetected. Otherwise, she would never have been in a position to take care of those kids that day.

So this particular tragedy has scared some mothers sober, or at least made certain moms rethink the habit of drinking on duty. One of these moms is funny writer Stephanie Wilder-Taylor. This is a big deal since she happens to be the author of such tongue-in-cheek books as "Sippy Cups are Not for Chardonnay" and "Nap Time is the New Happy Hour" and blog column "Make Mine a Double: Tales of Twins and Tequila." But there's a big difference between kicking back with a glass or two in the comfort of your own home and car-pooling drunk. 

So are drinking problems prevalent among moms? And, if so, which moms are more inclined to drink these days? According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, educated women are more likely to drink than less-educated ones, and working mothers are more likely than stay-at-home ones. This isn't a major revelation: there's no doubt that the pressures of child rearing can get to mothers and that alcohol is abused as a stress reliever, especially when juggling work and family life. Although many women would probably say that their husbands are driving them to drink, it seems married women are less likely to booze it up than single moms. So if you're a single, working mother, you've obviously got your hands full. The bottom line is that we're all about strengthening relationships here and reaching out to those around you–your parents, siblings, best friends and significant others–if and when you need help.