An international expert has warned that there is no safe limit for alcohol intake for pregnant women. The warning came from Dr Kieran O'Malley of the University of Washington in Seattle who said Ireland had a long way to go in warning pregnant women against drinking.
He was speaking at a seminar in Trinity College Dublin last night where Prof Susan Ryan of TCD said research suggested that up to 354 babies were being born with foetal alcohol syndrome in the Republic every year.
She said the figure could be as high as 1,770 if all the alcohol-related neurological disorders were included.
Prof Ryan told the seminar that foetal alcohol syndrome was the biggest cause of non-genetic intellectual disability in the West, yet it was totally preventable.
Dr O'Malley, an expert in the syndrome, said increasing levels of binge-drinking among young women in general was also a serious concern. There was a strong connection between drinking during pregnancy and autism, which must be better recognised if children were to receive the correct medical treatment.
He said the syndrome could masquerade as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a range of other psychiatric and mood disorders. Clinicians needed to be conscious of this when making a diagnosis, he said. Some drugs used to treat autism, for example, would not be successful if foetal alcohol syndrome was the root cause of the disorder.
He added: "There is a certain stigma attached to foetal alcohol spectrum disorders and autism doesn't have the same stigma."
Prof Ryan called on the Government to highlight the danger of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. "There is a critical need for society to address the growing culture of binge-drinking among young women," she said.
"Binge-drinking can cause risks to the unborn child."
Prof Ryan urged the Government to carry out an awareness campaign and to put support structures in place for families affected by the disorder.
