Light drinking during pregnancy not linked to developmental problems in childhood

Light drinking during pregnancy is not linked to adverse behavioural or cognitive outcomes in childhood, suggests a new study published today. Authors of the study, from UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, collated data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a national study of infants born in the UK between 2000-2002, to assess whether light drinking (up to two units of alcohol per week) in pregnancy was linked to unfavourable developmental outcomes in 7-year-old children. The research is published in in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Previous research has linked heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy with health and developmental problems in children, however, the effects of low level consumption remains unclear. Professor Yvonne Kelly, co-director, ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies (ICLS) at UCL, and co-author of the study said: "There appears to be no increased risk of negative impacts of light drinking in pregnancy on behavioural or cognitive development in 7-year-old children." She added: "We need to understand more about how children's environments influence their behavioural and intellectual development. While we have followed these children for the first seven years of their lives, further research is needed to detect whether any adverse effects of low levels of alcohol consumption in pregnancy emerge later in childhood." Researchers used information on 10,534 7-year-olds from home-visit s and questionnaires completed by parents and teachers to identify social and emotional behaviour (such as hyperactivity, attention or conduct problems).