Pregnant women will have SINGLE glass of wine recorded on medical notes in controversial step
PREGNANT women will have every glass of wine they drink recorded by doctors.
Previously mums-to-be have been discouraged from drinking, but not had their habits formally written down.
The new advice, from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), aims to identify babies with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
FASD is when an unborn baby is exposed to alcohol in the womb and they suffer irreversible brain damage or other health conditions as a consequence.
Health bosses say no level of alcohol is safe when carrying a baby - advice that was changed in 2007.
Government statistics, however, reveal that one in 10 women admit to having some alcohol in the past week.
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The guidance states that healthcare professionals should "record the number and types of alcoholic drinks consumed, as well as the pattern and frequency of drinking" for a pregnant woman.
Dr Paul Chrisp, director of Nice’s centre for guidelines, said: “We know children and young people with FASD often have a poorer quality of life and must overcome some incredibly difficult challenges in their daily lives.
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“This quality standard aims to improve the diagnosis and care offered to children and young people with FASD as well as ensuring that women are given consistent advice about their alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
“FASD is a series of preventable mental and physical birth defects associated with alcohol use during pregnancy. Helping women to drink less or no alcohol during their pregnancy will reduce the number of children and young people affected by FASD.”
Some see the booze record as an unfair infringement on privacy - but others see it as a necessary medical effort to reduce harm to babies.
FASD is untreatable and there is no way to test if a baby shall be affected with it.
The child can have permanent issues with their movement, vision, learning, social skills, communication, joints, muscles, bones and organs.
Up to four million British people may have FASD, according to estimates from University of Bristol.
Many are undiagnosed and it is often known as a “hidden disability”, the National Organisation for FASD.
Dropped plans
An earlier draft of the NICE guidelines said that a mum-to-be’s alcohol use should be recorded on their child’s records, too.
But after a huge backlash, this was dropped.
Campaigners said the plans may have prevented pregnant women speaking frankly with her midwife about alcohol, and would have infringed on a woman’s right to privacy.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) chief executive Clare Murphy said: “We welcome the decision by Nice to drop proposals to automatically transfer any alcohol consumption reported by a pregnant woman to her child’s medical records.
“It is absolutely staggering that these measures, which had no basis in evidence and would have amounted to an extraordinary infringement on women’s right to privacy, were ever suggested by Nice in the first place.”
Ms Murphy said the “vast majority of women do not consume alcohol once pregnancy is confirmed or consume at levels not associated with harm”.
She therefore added: “We remain concerned about the routine questioning of women throughout pregnancy on this issue.
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“Our research shows women find antenatal discussions about alcohol – even when they don’t drink at all – can supersede other issues important to them, like their own mental health and wellbeing.
“Those supporting pregnant women must be able to provide care that meets the needs of the individual before them, not just to fill in boxes on a checklist.”
Alcohol use in pregnancy
The NHS says experts are still unsure exactly how much – if any – alcohol is completely safe for you to have while you're pregnant.
Therefore, the safest approach is not to drink at all while expecting.
This advice was implemented in 2007. Before then, women were told that if they want to drink, it should be no more than one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week.
Most women do give up alcohol once they know they're pregnant or when they're planning to become pregnant.
Not doing so raises the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and a low birthweight.
The child can also develop a serious condition called foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which can cause issues with the organs, joints, learning, social skills, communication and hyperactivity.
The National Organisation for FASD says: “If you had small amounts before you knew you were pregnant or while pregnant, in most cases the RISK is low.
“Choose to stop drinking now for your baby’s future. If your child has challenges later, ask doctors about FASD.”
If you're worried about your own or someone else's drinking, call Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am to 8pm, weekends 11am to 4pm).