Ireland tops list for pregnant women drinking

Ireland has the world’s highest rate of women drinking alcohol while pregnant, even though public health campaigns warn repeatedly of the risk to the baby.

According to the research, 60.4% of Irish women continue to drink when they are expecting a baby, amounting to six times the global average of one in 10.

The next highest rate of drinking after Ireland was to be found in Belarus, where 46.6% of women admitted drinking. Denmark came third with 45.8% of pregnant women opting for alcohol. The UK was the fourth worst offender on 41.3%. In fifth place was Russia, where 36.5% of women admitted to drinking.