Pregnant women told to keep off alcoholBy Lucy Cockcroft
Pregnant women should abstain from drinking alcohol or risk damaging the health of their child, a leading medical expert warns today.
The advice will cause confusion among expectant mothers, who were told only two weeks ago by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), which issues public health guidance, that it was safe to indulge in one small glass of wine a day.
While it is accepted that excessive alcohol consumption is detrimental to the health of a foetus, the effects of moderate drinking are still in question.
In May, the Department of Health changed its advice from recommending no more than two small glasses of wine once or twice a week to urging pregnant women not to drink at all.
Then the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists added its voice, claiming there was still no firm evidence that low-level alcohol consumption adversely affected the long-term health of a child.
Today's advice against drinking comes in the influential British Medical Journal.
. . . . . .
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
