Alcohol in small amounts 'won't damage unborn baby'

Obstetrician says ‘common sense has gone out the window’ in relation to advice pregnant women receive

ONE OF Ireland’s best known obstetrician/gynaecologists has said there is no evidence to suggest that women who drink small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy harm their babies.

Dr Peter Boylan, the former master of the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street, Dublin, said there was even international evidence to suggest that drinking a glass of wine a day during pregnancy might be beneficial in the long term and does no harm.

Dr Boylan’s advice is contrary to that of the chief medical officer who concluded three years ago that there was “no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy” and that there was a substantial risk from binge drinking which could lead to Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

However, Dr Boylan, the author of the Irish Pregnancy Book, said such advice could be taken with a "pinch of salt".

“They are making statements that are not backed up by scientific evidence. It is undoubtedly true that heavy alcohol intake can potentially be extremely damaging to the developing embryo and foetus,” he said.

“But it is wrong to extrapolate from that that a small amount of alcohol is bad. A large dose of radiation can cause cancer of the blood, but we also know that the exposure to a small amount of radiation, such as through an X-ray, is not harmful.

“Just because something is harmful in a big dose does not mean it is harmful in small doses.”

Dr Boylan added that “common sense had gone out the window” in relation to a lot of advice that pregnant women receive.

“Pregnant women are subject to an awful lot of advice and a lot of it is complete and utter nonsense. If pregnant women live a reasonably sensible life, they will not cause any harm.”

Alcohol Action Ireland’s acting director, Cliona Murphy, said Dr Boylan’s advice would add to the confusion that women already experience about alcohol.

“From our perspective the Government advice is quite clear, but our experience is that pregnant women often get conflicting advice from their doctors in this regard. There is no safe known limit for alcohol during pregnancy,” she said.

“I’m at a loss to understand the basis on which he has given that advice. The advice in the UK is that children under the age of 15 should not drink because their brains are still developing and the same goes for the brain of a child in the womb.”

The debate about pregnant women drinking alcohol took a new twist when it was revealed that a hospital in London had introduced alcohol tests for pregnant women on a voluntary basis.

The Homerton Hospital has distributed the kits, which can detect alcohol for up to two weeks after consumption, to women as part of what is termed a “lifestyle, alcohol assessment”.