A UK politician has called for pregnant women to drink no alcohol “at all” during pregnancy.
Bill Esterton, a Labour MP, also wants better labelling of alcohol products in order to warn pregnant women about the dangers of drinking during pregnancy.
England’s Chief Medical Officer has advised that pregnant women should “avoid drinking alcohol altogether” but, if they do choose to drink, should consume “no more than one or two units once or twice a week”.
Esterton, launching his campaign in the House of Commons, believes this advice to be a “contradiction” that can cause confusion among women.
“Much scientific evidence suggests that there is no safe limit when it comes to drinking in pregnancy but sadly not everyone is aware of the dangers,” he told MPs.
He said: “Now not everyone whose mother drinks during pregnancy suffers damage that affects their life chances and this is certainly not an attack on women.
“But the damage done by alcohol to too many children shows the need for action and shows that too many of us do not understand the potential risks of drinking alcohol at any point during pregnancy.”
The chief medical officer for England is in the process of reviewing alcohol guidelines, but Esterson said this “appears to be taking a very long time”.
He said current labelling on alcoholic drinks was “inadequate as well as not being universal” and proposed a mandatory system of “clear and persistent” labels to warn expectant mothers to avoid alcohol.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has said “current scientific opinion points to there being no hard evidence that very small amounts of alcohol consumption during pregnancy are harmful”.
