Alcohol advice for pregnant women

Your article (Pregnant women encouraged to drink by alcohol industry, researchers claim, 14 October) suggests that Drinkaware has published information saying “light drinking” in pregnancy is safe. Nowhere on our website are there any such statements. On the contrary, we advise unequivocally that the safest approach is not to drink at all during pregnancy or while trying to conceive, and we refer clearly to the chief medical officers’ guidelines. We also set out in detail on our website the risks of foetal alcohol syndrome. It is suggested that our information “confuses matters by adding: ‘How a baby will be affected depends on how much its mother drinks’”; far from confusing matters, this is simply a statement of fact. We urge anybody in doubt to visit our website to view what we say: www.drinkaware.co.uk
Leigh Lewis Chairman, Drinkaware
Elaine Hindal CEO, Drinkaware

• Your article claims that Éduc’alcool “maintains that ‘[the] risk to the foetus is reduced considerably if you have only one drink every now and then’”. This is actually an excerpt from a joint publication by the Quebec College of Physicians and Éduc’alcool – part of the answer to a very specific question: “Does limited drinking endanger the foetus in the same way [as heavy drinking]?” And the answer continues: “The effects of alcohol are proportional to the amount you drink and how frequently you drink. That’s why abstaining from drinking throughout your pregnancy is the safest choice.”

Éduc’alcool has always recommended that pregnant women – and those who wish to become pregnant – abstain from alcohol. We have maintained this position rigorously without stigmatising or terrorising those who may have had an occasional drink, especially since the alcohol may have been consumed before the mother-to-be even became aware of her pregnancy.
Hubert Sacy
Director general, Éduc’alcool