A long-term study has found that even light-to-moderate drinking during pregnancy can impair child's IQ.

    Just one drink a day during the first three months of pregnancy is associated with a 2-point drop in overall IQ by the time the child is 10, according to a report in the June issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

    "IQ is a measure of the child's potential to learn and survive in his or her environment. It predicts how successful we will be in school, work and life," Dr. Jennifer A. Willford, a psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and co-author of the report, noted in a university statement.

    It's well known that heavy drinking during pregnancy can lead to lower intelligence in children, but less is known about the effects of light-to-moderate drinking during pregnancy on the child's IQ.

    To investigate, the research team examined data from 636 mother-child pairs who attended a prenatal clinic from 1983 to 1985. The women provided information on alcohol use during each trimester of pregnancy and their child's cognitive ability was assessed at age 10.    

    In African-American 10-year-olds, low-to-moderate alcohol exposure in the first and second trimesters significantly predicted deficits in the composite score of a standard test of intelligence, as well as several individual components of the test.

    But no such association was found for Caucasian children in the study. This suggests that genetics play a role in these racial differences, according to the researchers.

    The effects on IQ and cognitive abilities became more pronounced if moms continued to drink throughout their pregnancy or consumed more alcohol, the researhcers found.

    "Since no one has been able to determine if there is a 'safe' level of alcohol exposure during pregnancy, we can only say it's safer not to drink at all," Willford concludes. Enditem

    (Agencies)