Pregnant women who booze have less brainy children, experts say.
They were also found to be at greater risk of having underweight babies. Their findings reinforce official guidelines, which encourage mums-to-be to abstain from alcohol.
Researcher Dr Luisa Zuccolo said: “The body of evidence for the harm that alcohol can do to children before they are born is growing. Our work confirms the current scientific consensus that consuming alcohol during pregnancy can affect one’s child’s cognitive abilities later in life, including their education. It might also lead to lower birthweight.”
The findings come from a Bristol University review of 23 studies of drinking alcohol while pregnant.
But Clare Murphy, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, warned against stigmatising mums. She said: “This provides no new evidence of harm at lower levels of alcohol consumption.”
Deputy chief medical officer Professor Jenny Harries said: “If you are pregnant or you are planning to become pregnant, national guidelines recommend the safest approach is to not drink at all, to keep the risk to your baby to a minimum. We have been clear with the alcohol industry that we expect these guidelines to be reflected on the labelling of all alcoholic products.”
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