A study released in the August edition of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research reveals that drinking low amounts of alcohol during pregnancy could leave harmful permanent damage to the baby.

"In the past, much focus was placed on studying the full-blown foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). More recent research has considered those individuals damaged by lower levels of exposure. This is an important focus," says Julie Croxford, from Wayne State University in Detroit.

The study confirmed that children had slower cognitive skills who were exposed to alcohol in the womb.