Whether it's a drop of wine with dinner or a glass of stout "for iron", most of us have explained away the odd tipple consumed by a pregnant friend, but according to a new study, Irish women urgently need to address the relationship between bump and booze.
More than 75 per cent of women in Ireland drink at some stage during their pregnancy and the findings of a new study reveal that drinking during pregnancy is “socially pervasive” in Ireland, with more than 45 per cent of Irish women binge drinking in their first trimester. While this figure drops to 0.4 per cent in the second trimester, the research, published in the British medical journal
BMJ Open, shows that all social groups are consistently ignoring the
HSE advice that even a small amount of alcohol can increase the risk of damage to a baby’s physical, neurological and mental development.
Women who smoke are also likely to consume alcohol while pregnant and Caucasian women were more likely to drink while pregnant than non-Caucasians.
The study of 17,000 women, conducted by researchers at University College Cork in collaboration with teams Britain, Australia and New Zealand, suggests that the level of targeted advice offered by healthcare professionals on both smoking and drinking during pregnancy needs to be increased.
What do you think: should Irish women take a zero tolerance approach to drinking during pregnancy? Let us know on Twitter @herfamilydotie #HerFamOpinion 
