Drinking a small glass of wine every day is safe for pregnant women, a British health watchdog has suggested.
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence's (NICE) new draft guidance contradicts the British government's official advice which is for pregnant women and those trying toconceive to avoid alcohol altogether.
The institute says pregnant women can safely consume up to 1.5 units of alcohol - the equivalent of a 125ml glass of wine or a 25ml measure of spirits - a day after the first three months of pregnancy.
Its recommendation says there was "no consistent evidence" suggesting that small amount of alcohol damages unborn children.
A NICE spokesman said the guidance was developed by experts who carried out a review of all available evidence on the risks facing pregnant women who drink alcohol.
"The experts have concluded that there is no consistent evidence of adverse effects from low to moderate alcohol during pregnancy (less than one drink or 1.5 units per day) but the evidence is probably not strong enough to rule out any risk," the spokesman told The Times.
The draft guidelines are due to be published in full next March.
英國某健康機構建議,孕婦每天喝一小杯葡萄酒不會危害胎兒健康。
英國國家臨床優化研究所提出的新健康指導草案與英國政府的官方意見相矛盾。英國衛生部建議,孕婦和準備懷孕的人都不宜飲酒。
該機構稱,孕婦在懷孕前三個月每天攝入1.5單位的酒精(相當于125毫升的葡萄酒或25毫升的烈酒)不會對胎兒造成危害。
該機構的建議稱,目前“并沒有一致的證據”表明孕婦少量飲酒會影響胎兒健康。
英國國家臨床優化研究所的一位發言人稱,這一結論是專家們對所有有關孕婦飲酒風險的實例進行調研后得出的。
這位發言人在接受《泰晤士報》的采訪時說:“專家們經過調研得出結論,并無可靠證據證明孕婦少量或適量飲酒會危害胎兒健康。”
該健康指南草案將于明年三月公布。
Vocabulary:
conceive:to become pregnant(懷孕)