Drinking alcohol in the early stages of pregnancy will not harm the baby's development, according to new research.
Health on Female First
It also shows that moderate drinking, around one a day, does not affect the child's IQ and other brain functions.
However, high levels of consumption - nine or more drinks a week - were linked to a lower attention span at the age of five.
According to official government advice, binge drinking among women is classed as more than 6 units of alchol, or the equivalent of two large glasses of wine.
Department of Health information says heavy drinking can damage a baby's nervous system, resulting in learning difficulties and coordination problems.
Danish doctors behind the research said the findings should not be taken as a green light for pregnant women to binge drink, defined as having five or more drinks on one occasion.
Joint author Professor Ulrik Kesmodel, of Aarhus University Hospital, said it was clear that heavy, continuous drinking was detrimental to the unborn child.
Heavy drinking in pregnancy is linked to Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in children, which can cause physical, mental and behavioural problems. Newly pregnant women were often concerned their baby had been conceived at a time when they may have been binge drinking, said Prof Kesmodel.
But he added: ‘These findings, which were unexpected, should bring some comfort to women if they were drinking before they realised they were pregnant.’
A total of 1,628 women, aged 31 on average, were recruited for the research at their first antenatal visit.
Tagged in Alcohol Health Pregnancy University