Moderate drinking in pregnancy ‘does not harm brains of babies’

Children whose mothers consumed the equivalent of a glass of wine a day were able to balance as well as those who had not been exposed to alcohol in the womb.

Almost 7,000 10-year-olds were asked to take part in balance tests, which are an indicator of prenatal neurodevelopment.

The drinking habits of their mothers had been recorded during and after pregnancy, with those who drank three to seven glasses of alcohol a week classed as moderate drinkers.

Social advantage could be a large factor, as the research found mothers who were more affluent and better educated were more likely to drink in moderation.

Mothers from a working-class background were more likely to abstain from alcohol through pregnancy, to drink heavily or binge drink.

Prof John Macleod, of Bristol University, who led the study published by the journal BMJ Open, said: “When we compared moderate drinkers with women who didn’t drink at all we actually found that in relation to a number of different tests of balance the children of moderate drinkers appeared to do better.

“However, we also found that the women who moderately drank compared to women who didn’t drink tended to be more middle class. Having a middle class mum compared to having a working class mum is likely to advance a child in a lot of ways.”