The recent Danish research has revealed that moderate alcohol consumption in early pregnancy is not associated with children development issues that may appear in next 5 years. Danish researchers have also reported that one to eight drinks a week during the pregnancy does not adversely affect any stage of fetal development. In Denmark a normal one drink includes 12 grams of alcohol, in Great Britain – 8 grams. In Great Britain women are advised to drink no more than two drinks within a week.
The study involved more than 1,600 pregnant women. It was also defined that a small amount of alcohol means 1-4 drinks per week, moderate – 5-8 drinks and big is when woman consumes nine or more drinks per week. After this research it was found that moderate alcohol consumption in early pregnancy does not affect the five-year-old child’s neurological development. However, more than nine drinks per week lead to concentration problems.
World’s attitude to the pregnancy becomes more and more liberal so we must say that these findings should be evaluated very cautiously. Besides, talking about the rules of safe alcohol consumption is more difficult because it depends not only on the quantity of alcohol which is consumed but on how good the liver functions are. Placenta does not protect from the alcohol, so the child’s blood gets the same alcohol concentration as his mother. Even though there may be no abnormalities observed just after the child birth, the consequences can be felt later.
Note that alcohol consumption during the first trimester, when the internal organs of the fatal are formed, increases the risk that he can be born with defects in his development. After 10-13 weeks of pregnancy, its body becomes formed, so the alcohol may kills the cells in central nervous system or other parts of the body.