Any Amount of Alcohol Use During Pregnancy Could Harm a Child's Brain

Even a couple of alcohol drinks a week in the early stages of pregnancy can raise the likelihood of a child developing depression, anxiety, other behavioral and psychological issues in youth, reports a new study.

Even small levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy could impact a child's brain development, raising the risk of psychiatric disorders in youth, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use led the study.

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‘Even a couple of drinks during pregnancy can have a significant influence on a child's brain development, leading to depression, anxiety, and poor attention in youth. ’

The influence of low-level alcohol use during pregnancy on child development is relatively unknown, and there has been a huge debate about whether there is a safe level of consumption.

The study analyzed nearly 10,000 kids aged between nine and 11 found that exposure to alcohol, even in low levels in the womb during pregnancy, exhibited more behavioral and psychological problems than children who were not exposed.

A low level of alcohol use is defined as no more than six drinks per week.

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In the largest research of its kind, the study examined 9,719 youth to investigate the relationship between a small amount of alcohol consumption in pregnancy and the psychological, behavioral, neural, and cognitive differences in kids aged nine to 10 years old, hoping to find out the safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy.

"Our research found that even small alcohol amounts consumed while pregnant can have a significant influence on a child's brain development," stated lead author, Briana Lees from the Matilda Center.

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"The data distinctly indicates that there is no completely safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy."

Source-Medindia

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