Mothers who drink as little as half an alcoholic beverage a day can shave 7 points off of their unborn child's IQ, UPI reported May 25. Researchers said the study showed that any alcohol use puts unborn children at risk compared to those born to nondrinking mothers.

The study authors looked at the impact of maternal drinking during the second trimester of pregnancy on the IQs of 10-year-old children. "We don't really know that there's a safe level of drinking during pregnancy," said lead study author Jennifer Willford of the University of Pittsburgh. "Women need to know this, so they can plan accordingly when they are planning to get pregnant."

Experts said that many women don't realize that while heavy drinking can lead to the obvious cognitive defects associated with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, lower levels of drinking can also have serious, albeit subtle, effects on long-term development.

The research appears in the June 2006 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.