Pregnant women 'drink too much'

More than half of British women drink more than the recommended limits during the first three months of pregnancy, a study suggests.

About 53 per cent of women drank more than the upper limit of two units a week during the first trimester, figures show.

Middle-class women are more likely than women from other classes to drink more than the recommended limits during pregnancy, researchers said.

They called for UK health officials to revise their guidance on drinking in pregnancy after their study showed that even those adhering to the suggested limits are more likely to have problems with their babies than those who do not drink at all.

The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, examined 1200 women in Leeds who filled out food frequency questionnaires, including information on alcohol consumption during the month before conception and the three trimesters of pregnancy.

They noted that alcohol intake was "significantly higher" before conception, and during the first three months of pregnancy than in the last two trimesters.

On average women who participated in the study drank 11.2 units a week before conception and 4 units a week during the first three months and less than two a week during the the last six months of pregnancy.

Those who drank more than two units a week were more likely to be older, educated to degree level and more likely to live in affluent areas, they found.

Of all of the babies born, 13 per cent were underweight, 4.4 per cent were classed as being of a "low birth weight", and 4.3 per cent were born prematurely.

During pregnancy alcohol consumption was associated with a 100g reduction in birth weight for women consuming more than two units a week during the first trimester, they found.

In light of the findings, the researchers called on UK health officials to revise their guidance on drinking in pregnancy.

NHS guidance says that women should avoid drinking alcohol if they are pregnant or trying to conceive. If they do drink they should have no more than "one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week".

But the study's authors said that the results highlight the need for endorsing the "abstinence-only" message.