Light drinking 'will not harm pregnant women'

Drinking one or two units of alcohol a week during pregnancy does not harm a child's development, experts said today.

Women can safely drink a 175ml glass of wine, a 50ml glass of spirits or just under a pint of beer each week without affecting intellectual or behavioural development, a new study found.

But children born to mothers who drink heavily or binge drink (seven or more units a week or six at one sitting) are at higher risk of behavioural and emotional problems.

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The finding adds to previous research which found that light drinking had no negative effect on toddler development.

For the latest study, experts examined the risk of drinking on children up to the age of five.

The issue of how much is safe to drink during pregnancy has caused controversy in recent years. In 2007, the Department of Health published guidance saying pregnant women should avoid drinking alcohol altogether, as should those trying to conceive.

This replaced previous guidance which said it was safe for pregnant women to drink one to two units of alcohol per week.

The Government said its update was to provide consistent advice to all women.

In the latest study, a team at University College London questioned mothers from more than 11,000 households.