Pregnant Women May Drink Moderately Without Harming Baby, Says New Study

All expecting women have been told that alcohol is strictly prohibited because it may harm the neurological development of their unborn child. Many studies have confirmed it, but scientists keep investigating to see if that's actually true.

Recently, a new study published by the medical journal BMJ Open found that moderate drinking doesn't have a visible effect on the child's ability to balance, which is considered an important sign on a child's development. They came to the conclusion after recruiting nearly 7,000 10-year-olds who underwent a 20-minute assessment testing dynamic balance by walking on a beam and static balance, including standing on one leg with their eyes both open and closed.

The researchers compared the results with the information provided by their mothers on alcohol consumption during their pregnancy.

Seventy percent of the mothers, whose alcohol consumption had been monitored both at 18 weeks and again after birth, didn't drink at all while pregnant. One in four mothers had consumed small amounts of alcohol, about one glass a week, or moderate amounts, from three to seven glasses per week. About one in 20 moms drank more, and one in seven drank four or more glasses at one point.

No evidence was found of an adverse effect of low-to-moderate maternal alcohol consumption on childhood balance. They also found moderate alcohol exposure seemed to have a beneficial effect compared to no alcohol.

"Low to moderate alcohol consumption did not seem to interfere with a child's ability to balance for any of the three components assessed," said Professor John Macleod of the School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol.

However, he noted that "moderate alcohol intake was a marker for social advantage, which may itself be the key factor in better balance, possibly overriding subtle harmful effects of moderate alcohol use."

A spokesperson for the UK Department of Heath commented on the study saying: "Drinking during pregnancy can be associated with miscarriage, fetal alcohol syndrome and low birth weight. Our advice remains that women who are trying to conceive or are pregnant should avoid alcohol. If women choose to drink, to minimize the risk to the baby, they should not drink more than one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week and should not get drunk."