10% of pregnant women take six drinks a week

ALMOST one-in-10 pregnant women are putting the health of their unborn children at risk by consuming more than six alcoholic drinks a week, research shows.

The survey of more than 43,000 women attending ante-natal classes at the Coombe Hospital in Dublin found that just 20% intended reducing or stopping drinking altogether during their pregnancy.

Cutting down or stopping drinking while pregnant protects the baby.

The Department of Health insists there is no known safe level of alcohol use in pregnancy and recommends stopping completely until the birth.

In 1999 just half a percent of women admitted drinking six or more drinks a week while pregnant, but last year nearly 9% said they did and that figure is likely to be conservative because most people underestimate how much they drink.

The department says children exposed to alcohol in pregnancy often show poor attention and hyperactivity that may only become evident when they are a few years old.

“There are risks to your baby if you continue to drink, even in small quantities,” the department warns.

The study also found the number of pregnant women drinking during pregnancy has been steadily increasing.

In 1999 just over 55% of women said they drank alcohol while pregnant but this year more than 80% of women admitted consuming alcohol. The study found women in their 20s and 30s were drinking more in pregnancy.

Research psychologist Aoife Kearney said that right up to the end of pregnancy the central nervous system and connections to the brain are forming and could be particularly vulnerable to alcohol.

She said that while Foetal Alcohol Syndrome was being diagnosed in babies, many cases of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder were not being picked up.

“While such children do not have a learning disability, the effects will be seen in behavioural and psychological problems later on.”

But the study found women are aware of the risks of smoking to their babies. While a quarter of smokers continued smoking during pregnancy, more than a half had stopped from 2003 onwards.

Unlike with alcohol, it is mainly younger mothers who are smoking.

Alcohol dangers

* In 1999 just over 55% of women drank alcohol while pregnant. This rose to almost 80% in 2004 and increased again this year to just over 82%.

* 54% of women stopped drinking while pregnant in 1999, 69% in 2000, falling to only 17.5% this year. Problem drinking (more than 20 drinks a week) stayed the same over the period.

* 30% of Irish women binge drink on a regular basis, especially women of child-bearing age and sudden high levels of alcohol damage an unborn baby’s developing brain.