Consuming even moderate level of alcohol is not safe during pregnancy. According to a new study, it can harm a child's intelligence levels.
The safety of alcohol during pregnancy has been a controversial topic from a long time. Health practitioners usually recommend women to abstain from drinking during pregnancy as it can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome, birth defects, low birth weight and developmental disabilities. However, according to a latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of 13 pregnant women still consume alcohol in US.
The new research reported in PLOS ONE used genetic variations to examine the risks involved with moderate drinking, i.e. between one and six units of alcohol per week during pregnancy.
Dr. Ron Gray from the University of Oxford and colleagues included 4,167 children and their mothers for the study.
All the mothers filled questionnaires about their alcohol consumption, during two stages of pregnancy- at 18 weeks and 32 weeks. They shared information about the average amount and frequency of alcohol consumption before pregnancy, during the early stages (first trimester) and when the baby started moving inside the womb. The investigators used a method known as Mendelian randomization to examine the outcomes of alcohol consumption.
Heavy drinkers were excluded from the study and one unit of alcohol was considered as one drink.
Researchers identified four genetic variants in alcohol-metabolising genes in children of these women that predicted the risks of lower IQ at age eight. At age eight, the children's IQ levels were tested using a version of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Researchers noticed child's IQ going two points down, per genetic modification they owned.
The risks depend up on person's ability to metabolize ethanol. According to the authors, slow metabolism of ethanol increases the risks of fetal exposure to alcohol.
"Our results suggest that even at levels of alcohol consumption which are normally considered to be harmless, we can detect differences in childhood IQ, which are dependent on the ability of the foetus to clear this alcohol. This is evidence that even at these moderate levels, alcohol is influencing foetal brain development," the report's main author, Dr Sarah Lewis, said in a news release.
Concerned by the findings, the researchers recommend expecting mothers to fully avoid alcohol during pregnancy to avoid its negative impact on the baby.
"This is a complex study but the message is simple: even moderate amounts of alcohol during pregnancy can have an effect on future child intelligence. So women have good reason to choose to avoid alcohol when pregnant," Dr Ron Gray from the University of Oxford who led the research, said.
Previous studies have found many risks associated with consuming alcohol during pregnancy. A study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical &Experimental Research found high exposure to alcohol in the womb slowing down the growth of the child from birth to nine years.
