Draft guidelines from the U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) say that women can likely drink up to 1.5 units of alcohol -- such as a small glass of wine -- without ill effects after the first three months of pregnancy, the BBC reported Oct. 11.

The British government previously recommended that women abstain from alcohol, but that those who choose to drink should consume no more than one or two units of alcohol once or twice per week.

"The experts have concluded that there is no consistent evidence of adverse effects from low-to-moderate alcohol during pregnancy (less than one drink or 1.5 units per day) but the evidence is probably not strong enough to rule out any risk," said a NICE spokesperson.

Still, says obstetrics professor Andrew Sheenan, "No alcohol means no risk."

The new guidelines are expected to be released in March 2008.