A study by Professor Peter Hepper at Queens University Belfast has found that alcohol consumed during pregnancy affects how a baby's brain develops, even in small amounts.
Hepper scanned 40 pregnant women seven times throughout their pregnancies. Half said they would not drink alcohol; the other half drank between one and four units weekly, roughly four small glasses of wine. The difference in their babies was striking.
By 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy, when the foetal brain becomes more developed, the startle reflex had disappeared in babies of non-drinking mothers. This reflex, a primitive response to loud noises, normally vanishes as the brain matures and other movement controls develop. But in babies whose mothers drank, the startle reflex persisted even at 35 weeks.
"The alcohol seems to be affecting the way the child's brain develops," Hepper said. "We know that heavier drinking can cause behavioural problems such as hyperactivity in children. It may be that we are seeing the very beginning of a problem with child behaviour."
Hepper stressed that current advice telling pregnant women it is safe to drink one or two units once or twice a week is misleading. "Women should be advised not to drink at all," he said. "In Northern Ireland, we have an anti-drink-driving campaign that says one drink affects your ability to drive. I don't see that message coming out for pregnant women. A system should be put in place to help women stop drinking during pregnancy."
In severe cases, foetal alcohol syndrome causes facial deformities, low birth weight, hyperactivity, poor coordination and organ failure. Gloria Armistead, whose son has FAS, founded the Association of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness UK to campaign for better education about the dangers. She said the work is difficult because alcohol is embedded in culture, and some women resist being told what to do with their bodies.
"FAS is preventable with education and awareness," Armistead said. "It is not hereditary or genetic. But it is incurable."
Hepper plans to follow the children in his study for the next three to five years to better understand how drinking during pregnancy affects long-term child development.
