Alcohol, caffeine intake 'confusing for pregnant women'

05 Nov 2008

Monitoring levels of alcohol and caffeine intake during pregnancy can prove to be difficult for many expectant mums, as caffeine is often hidden in a modern diet and experts have not yet established an exact limit on alcohol.

Mervi Jokinen, from the Royal College of Midwives, said: "These much more fluid issues about alcohol and caffeine can be much more difficult to make a decision on, because alcohol is one of those that we don't really know the correct level for even now.

"Midwives must discuss the caffeine intake because women could be hooked on caffeine which is not a pregnancy issue but a health issue in itself."

A recent study from University College London found that boys born to light drinkers had higher scores on tests of vocabulary and whether they could identify colours, shapes, letters and numbers, compared to those born to abstainers.

The findings also suggested that girls born to light drinkers were 30 per cent less likely to have emotional symptoms and peer problems than those born to mothers who abstained from alcohol while pregnant.

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