Study: Drinking While Pregnant Doesn't Endanger Baby, It Makes Your Baby Smarter. What?

According to a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, an occasional glass of wine during pregnancy won’t harm a baby’s development. Researchers followed 11,000 pregnant women and the results showed that those who drank "one or two units of alcohol a week" resulted in better behaved kids. This goes against everything we've been told for eons.

Women can safely drink a 175ml glass of wine, a 50ml glass of spirits or just under a pint of beer each week without damaging their child’s intellectual or behavioural development, [the study] says. A team at University College London questioned mothers when their babies were nine months old about their drinking in pregnancy and other aspects of their health. The families were also visited when the children were aged three and five. When the children were five, tests – including remembering vocabulary and picture sequencing – were carried out to assess their development, and questions were asked about their social and emotional behavior. These showed those born to mothers who had one or two units of alcohol per week scored slightly higher on some tests than those born to mothers who had not touched alcohol in pregnancy. And they were 30 percent less likely to have behavioural problems than children of mothers who abstained. Children whose mothers were heavy drinkers were more likely to be hyperactive, and have more behavioural and emotional problems than children whose mothers chose not to drink....Half a pint of ordinary strength beer is one unit, while a small glass of wine is one or one and a half units depending on its strength. Six per cent of the mothers said they never drank, while 60 per cent chose to abstain while expecting. Around one in four said they were light drinkers, consuming a couple of units a week. One in 20 were moderate drinkers – three to six units a week. One in 40 admitted they drank heavily during pregnancy.

Despite the study, the government still advises pregnant mothers and those trying to get pregnant to put down the bottle....But...Drink up?


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