Nursery World - A Unique Child: Inclusion

A study on alcohol and pregnancy has implications for both mothers
and those working with affected children.

Although the official Department of Health guidance about drinking alcohol during pregnancy is that 'pregnant women, or women trying for a baby, should avoid alcohol altogether', there still tends to be a general assumption that moderate drinking can't be too harmful. However, results from a new study suggest that even very moderate amounts of alcohol (less than one to six units a week) may affect a child's cognitive development and IQ.

Led by researchers from the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford, the study used data from more than 4,000 mothers and their children. The main author of the report, senior lecturer in genetic epidemiology at the University of Bristol Dr Sarah Lewis, reports that the 'results suggest that even at levels of alcohol consumption that are normally considered to be harmless, we can detect differences in childhood IQ, which are dependent on the ability of the foetus to clear this alcohol. This is evidence that even at these moderate levels, alcohol is influencing foetal brain development.'

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