Pregnant women "should avoid all acohol"

LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) Pregnant women and those trying to conceive should avoid drinking any alcohol at all, according to new advice from the Department of Health.

The government's previous position was that they could drink up to one or two units of alcohol once or twice a week.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Fiona Adshead said the new guidance had been introduced to provide stronger, more consistent advice for the whole of the UK.

''Our advice is simple: avoid alcohol if pregnant or trying to conceive,'' she said. ''This advice could also be included on alcohol packaging or labels. The advice now reflects the fact that many women give up drinking alcohol completely during pregnancy. It is now straightforward and stresses that it is better to avoid drinking alcohol altogether.'' Dr Sheila Shribman, the government's clinical director of maternity services, said: ''our last survey of pregnant women showed that nine percent were still drinking above the recommended levels.

''It is vital that we alert pregnant women and women hoping to conceive about the potential dangers of excessive alcohol consumption during pregnancy.'' The National Organisation on Foetal Alcohol Syndrome estimates more than 6,000 children are born in Britain each year with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, which covers a range of disabilities caused by maternal drinking.

Patrick O'Brien, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, admitted that the government's new advice differed from the college's position, which is that pregnant women should not drink to excess.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: ''There's no evidence that low-level drinking -- no more than one or two units of alcohol no more often than once or twice a week -- is harmful to the baby in any way.'' ''We welcome everything that's been said about high level alcohol intake and binge drinking during pregnancy. It's also fair to say that most women when they're pregnant do behave sensibly with regard to alcohol and what they eat and how they behave.'' A unit of alcohol is 10 ml of pure alcohol which means that a pint of ordinary strength lager or a 175 ml glass of red or white wine each contain two units of alcohol.

REUTERS GP SSC1355