EXPERTS last night called for a campaign to curb alcohol abuse by pregnant women after figures showed the number of babies left brain damaged each year in Scotland has doubled in a decade.
Official statistics show there were nine babies registered with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in Scotland in 2004 bringing to 60 the number born with the neurological brain disorder in a decade.
However, campaigners warned the damage done to babies from alcohol abuse is far greater than official statistics show, claiming heavy drinking among pregnant women is also linked to learning difficulties, hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder. The number of alcohol-related deaths is rising faster in Scotland than anywhere else in Europe.
Statistics from the General Register Office for Scotland show drinkwas responsible for the deaths of 492 women last year, double the number who died 21 years earlier, while it is estimated that one in four women binge drink and more than a third exceed the weekly alcohol limit of 14 units.
Susan Fleisher, executive director of the National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome in the UK, the public awareness and support charity, said government should insist the drinks industry provide health warnings on bottles and cans similar to that in the US. The messages state that women should not drink alcohol during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects.
"We expected higher figures for foetal alcohol syndrome than has been revealed, but the problem is that it is not being diagnosed and it is not easy to diagnose, " she said.
"You hear of children in nursery schools having more hyperactivity, more attention deficit disorder and more speech problems and it is conceivable it could be the result of their mothers binge drinking three or four years ago."
Mrs Fleisher said labelling would go some way to changing people's habits. "We currently have cans and bottles which have warning labels when they are shipped to the US, but there is a blank space when the same cans and bottles are sold in the UK. You could say they are withholding information from women."
Phil Hanlon, professor in public health at Glasgow University, said there needed to be a concerted campaign, but doubted there was a public desire to change habits.
"Levels of alcohol-related harm for all adults is undoubtedly going up in all social groups, " he said. "It is socially patterned. Those in the poorer parts of Scotland are experiencing a worse manifestation of the problem than those in more affluent areas. The idea children are being damaged to a greater extent than in the past seems highly likely."
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