A light tipple during pregnancy is OK after all, according to a large study 鈥� but it鈥檚 more likely to be because of the silver spoon in your child鈥檚 mouth than the alcohol in your glass.
The assessment of more than 12,000 children suggests that women who drink lightly during pregnancy give birth to children who are no more likely to develop behavioural problems or show reduced cognitive ability than those born to women who abstained completely.
Using data collected by the , and fellow epidemiologists from University College London looked at the pregnancy drinking patterns reported by mothers in the UK and assessed their children鈥檚 cognitive ability and behaviour at 3 years old, using a combination of questionnaires, interviews and home visits. Data from 12,495 children was analysed and the results were statistically adjusted in an attempt to compensate for socio-economic factors and the effects of different family structures.
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The study shows that boys born to mothers who drank lightly were 40% less likely to have 鈥渃onduct鈥� problems and 30% less likely to be hyperactive than those whose mothers were teetotal whilst pregnant. They also had higher scores in tests of vocabulary and could identify colours, shapes, letters and numbers better.
Girls born to light drinkers were 30% less likely to have peer problems compared with those born to abstainers.
Social factors, not alcohol
Kelly is quick to point out that alcohol probably does not offer any physiological benefit: the 鈥渁dvantageous鈥� results are probably a result of social factors on a child鈥檚 development, but not even clever statistical analysis could remove this influence from the data.
She explains: 鈥淲e went to enormous lengths to account for social and environmental factors in the statistical model, but the caveat is that drinking patterns are hugely influenced by social factors. Light drinkers are far more likely to be in professional or managerial professions, have higher incomes and higher levels of qualification compared with abstainers and heavy drinkers.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 rule out the overwhelming influence of the social environment in a child鈥檚 development.鈥�
The MCS is a population-based survey that began in 2001 and gathered social-economic information on over 20,000 babies born in the UK. The survey first looked at the babies when they were 9 months old and has followed them up at 3, 5 and 7 years. It is well known that a child鈥檚 cognitive ability and behaviour at 3 years is likely to be a good indicator of their future ability, even into adulthood. The University College London researchers are now looking at the children to see if the patterns seen at three years remain and if new trends emerge.
The last British studies into the effect of drinking during pregnancy were the similar at the University of Bristol in the UK, which followed babies born a decade before those in the MCS, and the government鈥檚 of 2005. With the latest study, fewer mothers reported having drunk during pregnancy.
However, Kelly doubts that this represents changes in drinking behaviour and suggests it is rather a reflection of how socially unacceptable drinking while pregnant has become. 鈥淲e all read the news: this country鈥檚 relationship with alcohol has changed since the last survey. Social norms influence not only what people do but also what they say they do,鈥� she says.
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