A new study found that pregnant women who drink moderately have children with better mental health than children of mothers who abstain. But the author of the paper cautions that her findings don’t give moms-to-be a green light to start indulging. “I really think we should recommend abstaining [from drinking] during pregnancy,” said study co-author Janni Niclasen, a post-doctoral student at the University of Copenhagen. “I really believe that even a glass of wine now and again is really damaging.” In the U.S., doctors caution that any amount of alcohol could endanger the baby, while in many other countries moderate drinking during pregnancy is acceptable. Moms remain divided on the issue. Niclasen waned to find out how maternal drinking affected the mental health of their babies. She discovered that children with mothers who drank about two drinks a week experienced better mental health than children whose mothers completely abstained from drinking.
