The research - which was carried out by UCC - found that 65 to 80 per cent of expectant mothers in Ireland drank some alcohol during the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The aim of the study was to assess the effects the level of alcohol consumption has on a number of vital factors such as the baby's weight, pre-eclampsia or spontaneous pre-term birth.

Lead Researcher and Professor of Obstetrics at UCC, Lousie Kenny says the effects of alcohol on unborn babies can be subtle but very serious: