One drink a week can harm unborn child

Mothers should not drink alcohol at all while pregnant, research showed today.

Current Government guidelines say one or two drinks a week is safe but a new study has found even one unit of alcohol can damage an unborn child.

Researchers investigating foetal alcohol syndrome have discovered babies exposed to alcohol in the womb have stunted growth, facial abnormalities, heart and lung problems and brain disorders.

The syndrome and associated disorders had been thought only to affect children born to heavy drinkers but now much lower consumption levels have been shown to harm the foetus.

One study of 501 mothers showed as little as one unit of alcohol - a small glass of wine or half a pint of beer - in a week caused behavioural problems in the child.

Another study found children exposed to any alcohol in the womb were more than three times as likely to exhibit delinquent behaviour as those exposed to none at all.

The news comes as The National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS-UK) hopes to open Europe's first diagnostic centre to discover how many infants are born with physical and learning difficulties associated with alcohol exposure during pregnancy.

Dr Raja Mukherjee of St George's Hospital Medical School, London, says both the syndrome and the range of associated problems cause behavioural disorders including hyperactivity and problems with mental organisation.

In a British Medical Journal article today, Dr Mukherjee said symptoms may also overlap with conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Individual differences in alcohol metabolism may protect most women when drinking small quantities but it is impossible to predict who is at risk and who is not.

Heavy drinking during pregnancy is known to damage the unborn child, which is why the Government sets a limit of one to two units of alcohol a week.

One in every 100 babies born is damaged by their mother drinking while pregnant, but Dr Mukherjee believes many cases are going unrecognised.

He says growing evidence has led the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries to adopt the abstinence message. He added: "The only sage message in pregnancy is abstinence from alcohol."

Dr Mukherjee is a NOFAS advisory expert on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

Director Susan Fleischer said: "We know how serious and widespread FASD is. Every day we receive calls from grandparents, fathers, foster parents, midwives, doctors and people disabled by FASD. We will be seeing new studies like Dr Mukherjee's as people become more aware of the risks of drinking during pregnancy."