Binge drinking 'puts babies at risk'

Doctors fear thousands more babies than previously thought are being born with brain damage because their mothers drink while pregnant.

The first diagnostic centre in Europe will be set up in London to discover how many infants are born with physical and learning difficulties associated with alcohol exposure during pregnancy.

Thousands of children in the UK are born with some level of disability caused by exposure to alcohol while in the womb, and studies suggest it could be one in 100 babies. But because of the rise in binge drinking, experts fear it could be much higher in Britain.

The National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (Nofas) is campaigning for US-style warning labels to be printed on all alcohol bottles and cans, which will also soon become law in France.

Susan Fleisher, founder of Nofas UK, said: "It seems no coincidence that as women are drinking more, there are more children manifesting behavioural problems, hyperactivity, learning and physical problems that could be a result of alcohol-related brain damage.

"Most doctors agree that foetal alcohol spectrum disorder [FASD] is under-diagnosed and probably widespread, especially given the rise in binge drinking in the UK.

"The doctors coming to London will, for the first time, share knowledge and begin planning the first FASD clinic."

Doctors can only diagnose the condition if the child has facial features associated with it but there are a range of problems that can be linked to alcohol that are more difficult to pick up. Children with FASD can have behavioural problems, attention deficit disorders and co-ordination difficulties.

The centre that Nofas hopes to establish will research the extent of the problem, help doctors to diagnose the condition and raise

awareness to prevent it. Dr Sterling Clarren, who has set up clinics around the world, wants to have British doctors running their own centres within a year.

He said: "Damage can occur in the first six to 10 weeks of pregnancy, when some women may not know they are pregnant. So the message is: if you think you are pregnant, or want to become pregnant, don't drink. No amount of alcohol is guaranteed safe."

Dr Clarren, professor of paediatrics at Seattle Children's Hospital, said babies with FASD go on to have problems at school and often break the law. Women with the condition often have alcohol problems and are more likely to have a child with FASD.

Ms Fleisher said: "The Government understands that by giving women and their partners the knowledge, we can prevent babies being born with FASD."