Hospitals under fire from medical chief for offering alcohol to pregnant women

HOSPITALS are offering pregnant mums wine and beer - despite alarm over the number of "booze babies" born with brain damage.

Pregnant drinking

HOSPITALS are offering pregnant mums wine and beer - despite doctors' alarm over the number of "booze babies" born with brain damage.

Australian Chief Medical Officer Chris Baggoley wants hospitals to take wine off the menu in their maternity wards.

"It seems unbelievable that not long ago patients could smoke in hospital and of course this is now totally unacceptable," he said yesterday.

"With all we now know about the effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, we must urge hospitals not to serve alcohol to women in maternity hospitals."

Australian Private Hospitals Association chief executive Michael Roff said most maternity wards offered wine with meals.

"My understanding is that most private obstetric centres would offer wine as part of the menu," he said.

"While it is on the menu, most women don't order it or take it while they're breastfeeding. It's a matter of individual choice."

Mr Roff said that foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in babies "requires ongoing consumption of alcohol during pregnancy ... so perhaps a glass of wine the night you're in hospital is not necessarily a bad thing".

But Prof Baggoley insisted abstinence was the safest option for expectant women and those planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding.

"I am very concerned that serving alcohol in maternity wards sends a very bad message to new mothers and I would urge hospitals to discontinue this practice," he said.

The Australian Medical Association warned that mothers who drink during pregnancy could damage their unborn baby's brain.

"Hospitals need to know that the appropriate amount of alcohol for a pregnant woman is zero," AMA president Steve Hambleton said.

Even well-off women who could afford a private hospital stay might have a drinking problem.

"It's the first glass of wine at four o'clock, then another one getting dinner ready, then they open a bottle when their husband gets home," he said.

Liberal MP Sharman Stone - who initiated the federal parliamentary inquiry into foetal alcohol spectrum disorder - said offering booze to pregnant women was like letting patients smoke in hospital.

"The baby doesn't have a freedom of choice," she said.

"Alcohol consumption is the biggest cause of non-genetic permanent brain injury in newborns and it is entirely preventable.

"Surely it is not too much to ask a mum not to drink for just nine months."

Melbourne's Peninsula Private Hospital offers "the ultimate maternity experience".

"You will be offered a choice of wine or beer to accompany your meals," its website says.