Drinking even small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy may reduce a child's intelligence

Researchers say that consuming as little as one glass of wine a week during pregnancy could lower the IQ of the baby by an average of 1.8 points

– but only in women with a certain genetic make-up. The normal span of intelligence is 20 points – from 90 to 110 – so though the effect is small for any individual it could have a noticeable impact on the population as a whole.

The study of over 4,000 mothers and their children by researchers from Oxford University was commended by rival scientists as "important" and "ingenious".

David Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College, London, said: "Even though the IQ effects are small, if at all possible women should avoid [alcohol] in pregnancy because it is a known toxin." Previous research has demonstrated that heavy drinking damages the foetus in pregnancy. But experts have been divided about the risks of moderate drinking.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence said in 2007 that alcohol should be avoided for the first three months of pregnancy but one to two drinks a day was safe thereafter. The Department of Health said in 2006 there was no safe limit throughout pregnancy.

The new findings are published on-line in the journal Plos One (Public Library of Science One) and indicate that genes determine the sensitivity of the foetus to alcohol. 

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