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A British study which found that drinking small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy does not harm the child's development has been rejected by a New Zealand expert.
The study found no sign of harm to children whose mothers drank low levels of alcohol throughout their pregnancy. On the contrary, the research suggested that exposure to alcohol may benefit some areas of development.
Australian experts were quick to reject the findings, a sentiment being echoed in New Zealand.
Dr Susan Morton told TV ONE's Breakfast that the study did not change the official stance on drinking during pregnancy.
"The evidence, as it stands, doesn't change the advice that we currently give to women that it's not safe to drink and they should abstain."
Morton, the principal investigator of the Growing Up in New Zealand study at Auckland University, said she had concerns about the way in which the research was conducted.
The study surveyed 11,500 mothers of one-year-olds on their drinking habits during pregnancy. However because the information was gathered over a year after the fact, there may be issues with the accuracy of the data collected.
While the study sends a controversial mixed message, the British researchers say they are not advocating drinking during pregnancy and they will follow up the research as the children age.
Health officials in New Zealand also say the British study doesn't quantify how much is too much and there is only one way to be certain.
"The best advice is to abstain altogether. We know that alcohol is poisonous and we know that it's specifically a neurotoxin so it damages developing brains," said Professor Jennie Connor of the University of Otago.
Morton said that the study also needed to account for the diversity of mothers studied, and other environmental and genetic factors present, which could have an impact on child development.
"What we do know is that not drinking is safe, and that heavy drinking is unsafe."
However establishing where the line is was difficult, said Morton.
"Obviously we can't experiment, that would be unethical."
Instead experts rely on observational studies.
The Growing Up in New Zealand Study follows a group of 7000 children from before they are born into adulthood.
The study hopes to answer questions over a number of different
influences on children's lives, including that of pre-natal
drinking.
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