An Australian Rotary Health and NHMRC funded study published recently has reported that there was no harmful effect of low-level alcohol use by mothers during pregnancy on infants’ cognitive ability at 12-months of age.
The research was conducted at the University of New South Wales’ National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre and the National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University. The study followed a cohort of over 1600 pregnant women and their partners from pregnancy, interviewed them about alcohol use, and conducted infant development assessments with infants at 12-months of age.
2013 Ian Scott PhD Scholarship recipient Clare McCormack, who conducted her PhD research on the project, found more than 65% of women and 84% of partners drank alcohol during pregnancy, but most women significantly reduced or stopped drinking after the first 6 weeks.
To read the full media release please visit the Australian Rotary Health website.