Drinking one or two glasses of wine a week during pregnancy can influence a child's IQ, a new study led by Oxford and Bristol university researchers suggests.

Lead researcher Dr Ron Gray from the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford said: 'This is a complex study but the message is simple: even moderate amounts of alcohol during pregnancy can have an effect on future child intelligence. So women have good reason to choose to avoid alcohol when pregnant.'

Current advice to pregnant women about alcohol during pregnancy is contradictory: some official guidelines recommend complete abstinence while others suggest that moderate alcohol consumption is safe.