PARENTS are being “disrespected” by the various mixed messages which are sent out about drinking during pregnancy, health chiefs have warned.
According to experts, mothers-to-be are being falsely led to believe that having the odd glass of wine during pregnancy will do no harm to the unborn baby.
But health chiefs say this is leading to to an estimated 500 babies being born every year in Scotland being adversely affected by Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder which causes severe learning difficulties for children.
FASD is often associated with facial features such as small eyelid openings, short upturned noses and reduced sized heads, but it can also affect the heart and cause varying degrees of learning disabilities and can also cause permanent, irreversible damage to a baby’s brain.
Now a new hard-hitting campaign by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is aimed at getting the message across about the risks of drinking during pregnancy.
The no alcohol, no alcohol harm is aimed at pregnant women and those thinking about having a baby, to highlight the risk of their child being born with FASD. 
Unlike adults, babies in the womb have no capacity to metabolise alcohol, meaning it stays in their system longer that the mum’s, increasing the greater potential harm.
Dr Linda de Caestecker, NHSGGC Director of Public Health said: “Women get their information from various places, not just their doctor or midwife. 
“They read books and magazines, they scour the internet, chat to their mum and other friends who have had a baby before and this means they often get mixed messages.
“The aim of this campaign is to set the record straight. NHSGGC will do this even when the truth is less comfortable and less welcome than the popular myths to which our society has clung for too long.
“We need to be clear that FASD is a risk, not a certainty. If you had the odd drink before you know you were pregnant the risk will be small.  
“But it’s also just kidding yourself on to believe drinking wine with dinner most nights doesn’t really count. 
The message is that the only way to guarantee your baby not being exposed to alcohol harm is to avoid alcohol completely.”
Recent research showed that women in the UK and Ireland are among the world’s worst for drinking during pregnancy.
It calculated more than 40per cent of women in the UK drink alcohol during their pregnancy - higher than the Russian rate of 36.5per cent.
Ireland topped the list of the five worst offenders, which also featured Denmark and Belarus.
On the other end, the five countries with the lowest prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy were Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.
The study, conducted by researchers from the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, also argued there was an “urgent need” for a worldwide FAS surveillance system.
Dr de Caestecker added: “Fetal alcohol harm is the single biggest and 100per cent preventable cause of learning disabilities and behavioural difficulties among children, young people and adults in the UK. 
“By weakening the messages about drinking in pregnancy in order not to alarm or upset anyone, we are in fact being disrespectful to prospective mothers and fathers as they are entitled to understand the risks involved in alcohol use during pregnancy. "