Pregnant women OK to drink?

Small amounts of alcohol seem to be safe in pregnancy, suggests new study

Posted: 7 July 2011
by Kimberley Smith

Light drinking in pregnancy may not be such a danger to your baby, says a review of past studies.

Drinking small amounts of alcohol in pregnancy may not affect your baby, a new study has found. However the study did stress that drinking more than one or two small glasses of wine a week, for example, did risk harming the baby.

Experts reviewed 36 studies looking into the effect of alcohol on pregnancy. The major risks associated with drinking alcohol in pregnancy are low birth weight, premature birth and miscarriage, but the experts discovered no link between light drinking and these risks.

“Women should be careful about the amount of alcohol they consume when pregnant, especially in the first trimester,” explained Patrick O’Brien, from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. “If a woman falls pregnant she should abstain from alcohol. However, one or two units once or twice a week is acceptable after 12 weeks of pregnancy.”