Tuesday 22 November 2022 10:08 AM Drinking just ONE glass of wine a week during pregnancy changes babies' brain ... trends now
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Just one glass of wine a week during pregnancy is enough to physically alter the shape of a baby's brain, a study has found.
Babies exposed to even low amounts of alcohol prenatally had a shallower right superior temporal sulcus (STS) - which is involved in cognition and language.
Expectant mothers are now being urged to 'strictly avoid alcohol' entirely while pregnant. Figures indicate one in seven women in the US consume alcohol to varying degrees during pregnancy.
Lead author of the study Dr Patric Kienast, a neurologist at the Medical University of Vienna, said: 'Pregnant women should strictly avoid alcohol consumption.
'As we show in our study, even low levels of alcohol consumption can lead to structural changes in brain development and delayed brain maturation.'
He added: 'Unfortunately, many pregnant women are unaware of the influence of alcohol on the fetus during pregnancy.'
A baby exposed to alcohol prenatally shown left and a healthy baby not exposed to alcohol shown right. They are both scanned between 25 and 29 gestational weeks. Arrows show the superior temporal sulcus, which is more defined in the healthy baby
No amount of alcohol is safe while pregnant, a European study has shown (stock image)
