Research Reveals Moderate Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy Can Lead to Complications

Posted on: 12 April 2011

New research, conducted by Trinity College Dublin scientists in partnership with the Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital and the HSE, shows drinking alcohol during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, and low birth weight.  The research was recently published in Biomed Central’s open access journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth and looked at the amounts of alcohol women drank during their early pregnancy and showed the effect this had on their babies.  The full report can be viewed online. 

There are conflicting reports about how much alcohol, if any, is safe for a pregnant woman to drink.  The researchers questioned more than 60,000 pregnant women during their hospital booking interview, which usually occurred 10-12 weeks after conception, and found that there might be no safe limit for the amount of alcohol a pregnant woman can drink without endangering her unborn child. 

Speaking about the study, Head of Department and Professor of Obstetrics at TCD, Professor Deirdre Murphy said: “This study emphasises the need for improved detection of alcohol misuse in pregnancy and for early intervention in order to minimise the risks to the developing fetus.  We would recommend that further research is required before even low amounts of alcohol can be considered safe.”

The findings of the research show that out of the respondents, 71% claimed to be occasional drinkers (0-5 units a week).  10% of the pregnant women questioned drank a moderate amount of alcohol (6-20 units a week) while only 0.02% admitted to being heavy drinkers (more than 20 units a week).  One case of fetal alcohol syndrome was detected among the occasional drinkers group which led the researchers to question whether women could be underestimating or under-reporting how much they actually drank during pregnancy.  

The moderate and heavy drinkers were often first time mums and unplanned pregnancy was associated with heavy drinking.  Heavy drinking was also related to very premature birth, and hence all the problems premature babies have including the increased risk of disease as an adult.  However, there was no difference in occurrence of congenital or other birth defects regardless of the amount of alcohol drunk.