IMAGINE when your pregnancy is scanned for the first time so you could see your precious baby growing in the womb, suddenly its whole body gives a shudder and the foetus appears to jump. Such a movement is known as the startle reflex; and the scan described above are from photographs from scans that were taken by Peter Hepper, a professor of psychology at Queens University, Belfast, an expert on the effects of alcohol on unborn babies.
Each woman was scanned seven times at various stages of their pregnancy. The results were astounding. By 18 to 20 weeks – when the foetal brain becomes more developed – the startle reflex in the foetuses of the non-drinking mothers had disappeared. But the reflex was still present in the foetuses of the women who drank, and was visible even at 35 weeks. What does this mean? Prof.
“Women should be advised not to drink at all,” he says. “In Northern Ireland, we have an anti-drink-driving campaign that says one drink affects your ability to drive. I don’t see that message coming out for pregnant women. A system should be put in place to help women stop drinking during pregnancy.” In its severest form, foetal alcohol syndrome can also cause facial deformities, low birth-weight, hyperactivity, poor co-ordination and major organ failure.
We need support for women who are drinking during pregnancy, more evidence that you don’t need to be a binge drinker for alcohol to harm your baby continues to stack up. A recent US study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, found that seven-year-olds whose mothers had drunk moderately to heavy amounts in pregnancy had lower IQs and experienced more problems with problem-solving skills and memory.