No amount of alcohol safe during pregnancy - HSE

The HSE has said no amount of alcohol at any stage is safe for a baby during pregnancy.

Ireland is estimated to have the third highest rate of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Alcohol passes from the mother's blood into the baby's blood via the placenta and can damage a baby's developing brain and body.

It said prenatal alcohol exposure of the foetus is the biggest known cause of intellectual disability.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy may cause a baby to develop hyperactivity and poor attention, behavioural problems and being smaller than expected.