Light drinking in pregnancy is fine

Light drinking during pregnancy ``is safe`` and will not harm the unborn baby`s development or increase the chance of premature birth, according to a new research.

Enjoying one or two glasses of wine a week - about two units - does not raise the risk of premature birth or impair the foetus` growth.

According to the research - which looked at 36 studies from around the world on alcohol intake and pregnancy - it is safe to drink the equivalent of half a unit a day, reports the Daily Mail.

The finding is likely to add to the confusion surrounding alcohol and pregnancy.

The Department of Health guidelines advise expectant mothers to abstain completely.

But researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto found that consuming 10g of alcohol a day - just over half a unit - would not harm the baby.
It means women should be able to enjoy one or two glasses of wine - one or two units - once or twice a week without harming their unborn child.

But drinking any more than 10g of alcohol a day - just over half a unit - substantially increased the dangers of the foetus being undeveloped or of going into labour prematurely by nearly a quarter, the researchers told BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.