Alcohol and pregnancy: why take the risk?

Newspapers have recently trumpeted the news that it’s ok to drink alcohol while pregnant after all. But the question still has to be asked: why take the risk?

Reports by several newspapers last week were based on a combined analysis of five research projects published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The studies tried to determine the effect of different levels of alcohol consumption during early to mid-term pregnancy and what effects, if any, this had upon children’s intelligence, attention span and ability to organise themselves. Just over 1,600 Danish mothers participated in the study and their children were tested at 5 years of age.

The researchers found that there appeared to be no statistically significant association between average weekly alcohol consumption and the intelligence, attention span and organisational ability of the children tested. This was also the case for women who had indulged in the occasional binge drinking session.

This is not the same as saying, as several newspapers seem to have implied, that drinking alcohol at light or moderate levels during pregnancy is safe.

Julia Brown, of The FASD Trust, points out that Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is often identified for the first time in children starting primary school at age 5. Difficulties with following instructions and interacting with their peers provide the first clues that all is not well. But FASD is a range of conditions and mild cases may not be picked up until the ages of 7 or 11 as affected children make the transition from Year 2 to Year 3 and from primary to secondary school. It is at these transition points that problems with concentration, following instructions and social functioning become increasingly obvious in comparison with their peers.

Many children with some form of FASD have their difficulties partially diagnosed as autism or suffering from ADHD or dyspraxia and therefore the full extent of the impact of alcohol on the mental, emotional and physical health of individuals is difficult to determine.

It is true that children and young people severely affected by FASD were probably born to mothers who were heavy drinkers. Sadly, many of these children end up in care or adopted by families who have no idea that their child’s life has already been blighted and struggle to cope with the behavioural and learning difficulties that emerge as the child grows up.

But alcohol in any amount is potentially harmful to the foetus. Why would anyone take the risk that their child might fail to achieve its potential in however small a degree, when giving up alcohol for nine months will avoid any possibility of regret or self-recrimination?