Everyone might be surprised with this statement that women can safely drink 1 small wine glass during pregnancy. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said that women can drink up to 1.5 units of alcohol a day without harming their unborn baby.

This contradicts Department of Health advice that mothers-to-be should not drink at all and will leave women wondering which set of 'official' guidelines to follow.

After reviewing a series of studies on drinking in pregnancy, the NICE advisers, who include doctors and midwives, said that other than possibly increasing the risk of miscarriage, it appeared small amounts of alcohol did not harm the unborn baby.

A small glass of wine counts as one unit, as does half a pint of ordinary strength lager, while a bottle of alcopop counts as 1.5 units.

A spokesman said: 'Although there is scientific uncertainty about the precise impact of excess alcohol on unborn babies, we believed the time was right to introduce a strong, consistent and precautionary approach.

'Our advice is simple: avoid alcohol if you are pregnant or trying to conceive.'