One of the first things that most women do when they are trying to start a family, think they might be pregnant or have a positive pregnancy test is put an immediate halt on consuming alcohol. But a new study by Danish researchers finds that this may not be necessary. The children of women consuming between one and eight alcoholic drinks per week during early pregnancy were found to not have suffered any negative effects on their neurological development as a result.
The study analyzed the IQ, attention span, and executive functions such as organization, planning, and self-control of the five-year-olds of 1,628 women averaging 30-years-old who were recruited from the Danish National Birth Cohort. The children of women who consumed low (1-4 alcoholic drinks per week) to moderate (5-8 alcoholic drinks per week) amounts of alcohol did not show any significant differences in test performance compared to those with mothers who abstained from drinking altogether. However, the children of women who consumed nine or more drinks on average per week were found to have a significant risk of lower attention scores.
Many doctors have different opinions on this subject ranging from it being ok to have a glass of wine on occasion to do not so much as take a sip of an alcoholic drink while pregnant. Another factor that this study notes is that the standard unit of alcohol in beverages can vary greatly from one country to another. This study considered an alcoholic content of 12 grams of pure alcohol as one serving.
While this study appears to suggest that it is safe for women to drink small amounts of alcohol while expecting, the only way to be completely certain that a child will not be affected by alcohol consumption during pregnancy is to abstain from it. This study also only looked at the effects on five-year-olds and more long-term studies will need to be done to be able to make more educated recommendations.