A MOTHER last night criticised new research suggesting it was not damaging for mums-to-be to drink a small amount while pregnant.

Julia Brown, from Stonesfield, claimed it “muddied the waters”.

Researchers at University College London studied more than 11,000 pregnant women and found that there was no increased risk or difficulties from very light drinking, which they defined as three to six alcohol units a week.

But Julia Brown said her 11-year-old adopted daughter Niamh was living proof of the dangers of drinking while pregnant.

Niamh was diagnosed with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, permanent birth defects caused by her birth mother drinking while pregnant.

Mrs Brown, who founded the Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Trust in January 2007 with her husband Simon, said such research could be misleading.

She added: “I think these kind of trials muddy the water for people.

“What’s moderate for one woman can be excessive for another.”

She added: “I understand where the study is coming from but all it serves to do is make things confusing for pregnant women.

“Our message would still be to abstain completely.”

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