вЂI ask the partner to consider supporting their pregnant partner by not drinking, or not drinking as much,вЂ™ she said. вЂMy advice to pregnant women is the best option is not to drink when theyвЂ™re trying to fall pregnant and then throughout the pregnancy the second best option is not to drink as soon as they know theyвЂ™re pregnant.вЂ™Дr Burton believes partners should also support pregnant women in this endeavour to make abstaining from drinking easier. вЂI usually tell women that we know alcohol damages brain cells, we know that it crosses the placenta, so the best advice is to not expose a developing child to alcohol,вЂ™ she said. вЂThe data indicates that there is no completely safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy,вЂ™ Ms Lees said. However, even children exposed to low levels of alcohol in the first six to seven weeks still experienced negative effects.

Ms Lees says that in general, the more alcohol a child is exposed to in utero, the more severe the outcomes. вЂThe vast majority consume one or two standard drinks per occasion which this study shows is enough to impact the babyвЂ™s brain.вЂ™ вЂThis study is so important because in Australia, around 50% of women drink alcohol before they know they are pregnant, and 25% do so after they know. вЂHowever, this study shows that any alcohol use during pregnancy, even low levels, is associated with subtle, yet significant behavioural and psychological effects in children including anxiety, depression and poor attention,вЂ™ she said. Lead author Ms Briana Lees says previous research showed that very heavy alcohol use, such as binge drinking, during pregnancy can cause harm to the baby. The authors therefore conclude вЂanyвЂ™ alcohol use in pregnancy is associated with psychological and behavioural effects in children, and that women should continue to be advised to abstain from alcohol consumption for the entirety of their pregnancy from conception onwards.

There was also a 25% increased likelihood of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children exposed to heavier alcohol levels (approximately 36 drinks) in the first six to seven weeks of pregnancy.

The research also explored whether differences in brain structure and resting-state functional connectivity partially explained these associations at baseline and at follow-up one year later, after controlling for possible confounding factors.ДЇor the study вЂ“ considered the largest to investigate the impacts of low-level alcohol use during pregnancy to date вЂ“ low levels of drinking were considered one to two drinks per occasion, with a maximum of six drinks per week.Д¬ompared to children who were not exposed to alcohol during pregnancy, the study found those exposed to low levels of alcohol in utero at any time in pregnancy experienced more psychological/emotional problems, including anxiety and depression, and behavioural problems, such as poor attention and being impulsive. The retrospective observational study examined the parent reports of 9719 children aged 9-10.9 years, looking at prenatal alcohol exposure and its association with psychological, behavioural and cognitive outcomes in offspring. She is talking to newsGP about new research from The University of Sydney, published recently in the American Journal of Psychiatry. That is Dr Wendy Burton, Chair of the RACGP Specific Interests Antenatal/Postnatal Care network. вЂThis confirms for me what IвЂ™ve long suspected: that there isnвЂ™t a safe level of alcohol in pregnancy.вЂ™ New research shows вЂanyвЂ™ alcohol use in pregnancy is associated with psychological and behavioural effects in children.ДЄround one in four Australian women continue to drink after finding out they are pregnant.

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