Many woman drink during pregnancy.

Large numbers of Irish women continue to drink during pregnancy, despite concerns over the effects this may have on their unborn babies, the results of a new study indicate. Researchers questioned 61,241 women who attended the Coombe Women's Hospital in Dublin between 2000 and 2007. Their aim was to investigate the prevalence, predictors and perinatal outcomes associated with alcohol use during pregnancy. In other words, they wanted to see how much alcohol the women consumed during pregnancy and what, if any, effects this had on the babies born. According to the researchers, while many women continue to consume alcohol in pregnancy ‘despite an increasing body of evidence suggesting harm to the foetus', the advice offered to women on this topic can be confusing...