Up to 3000 New Zealand children are born ever year with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder as a result of their mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Writing in the journal, University of Otago professors Doug Sellman and Jennie Connor compared the harm caused during pregnancy with the Zika virus and questioned why the response was not the same. The 'staggering' figures prompted experts to once again call for the Government to take action to reduce the harm caused by alcohol to all New Zealanders. Thirteen percent continued drinking after the first three months. Photo: Getty ImagesAlarming figures showing almost a quarter of New Zealand women continue to drink alcohol during their first three months of pregnancy have prompted calls for the Government to take action.Ī new study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, found 23% of women who took part in the 'Growing Up in New Zealand' study continued to drink in their first trimester - when the risk of damage to nerve tissue was the highest - despite knowing they were pregnant.
