Drink Up, Mom: Small Amounts of Alcohol During Pregnancy Don't Affect Child's Development

Sure, we all love a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer from time to time or another alcoholic beverage of our choice, but truth be told, if we spot a pregnant woman at a liquor store, it makes us turn away in disgust. Well, it's certainly never good to get tanked if you're expecting, but a new study shows that it might be ok to have a sip of chardonnay every once in a while. 

Reports from the journal BJOG say, in fact, that light drinking during pregnancy doesn't harm a child's behavioral or mental development. The study looked at the behavior of 10,543 U.K. seven-year-olds whose mothers had either abstained from alcohol or drank slightly while pregnant. 

Little differences were found between the two grouops, which supports the U.K. government guidelines. 

(It's important to note, however, that guidelines in the United States do not allow women to drink alcohol while pregnant. Check out the guidelines for your country, here.) 

The information reflects the Millennium Cohort Study, a national study of infants born in the UK between 2000-2002. When these children were nine months old, their mothers were asked whether they had drunk alcohol during pregnancy.

Around 57 percent said they abstained during pregnancy and 23 percent were light drinkers.

When the children reached the age of seven, their parents and school teachers were asked to assess their social and emotional behavior - including hyperactivity and attention problems. Math, reading and spatial skills were also tested.

The study findings also hinted that boys born to light drinkers had fewer behavioural problems and better reading and spatial skills than those born to mothers who did not drink during pregnancy,

While health professionals still typically advice pregnant women to abstain from alcohol, if they drink, they shouldnt' consume more than two units a week. 

"We know heavy drinking during pregnancy has a very deleterious effect, but it is very unlikely that drinking small amounts will have an impact," said Prof Yvonne Kelly, co-author of the study in An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).

"It doesn't seem biologically plausible that small amounts of alcohol would affect development either way. The environment children grow up in is massively more important.

"While we have followed these children for the first seven years of their lives, further research is needed to detect whether any adverse effects from low levels of alcohol consumption in pregnancy emerge later in childhood."

Light drinking was classed as consuming up to two units of alcohol per week. A unit is half a pint of lager or a single measure of spirits.

"These findings, that drinking not more than one or two units of alcohol per week during pregnancy is not linked to developmental problems in early-mid childhood, are consistent with current UK Department of Health guidelines," said John Thorp, an author from the journal.

"However, it remains unclear as to what level of alcohol consumption may have adverse outcomes so this should not alter current advice and if women are worried about consumption levels the safest option would be to abstain from drinking during pregnancy."