Children born to mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy are up to 17 per cent more likely to develop depression once they reach adulthood, a University of Bristol study has found.

Researchers analysed data from 14,541 expectant mothers surveyed in Bristol during the 1990s, about a third of whom consumed alcohol between 18 and 32 weeks of pregnancy.

They found the children of those who drank had a much higher risk of depression at age 18 compared with the offspring of mothers who did not.

The study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, also examined the drinking habits of the women’s partners, but found little evidence of a link with adolescent depression.

Dr Kayleigh Easey, senior research associate in genetic epidemiology, said: “It can be challenging to assess the causal effect of alcohol use in pregnancy and we have to be careful in the interpretation of results given the sensitivity of alcohol as a risk factor and traditional views around low-level drinking.

“What was really interesting here is that we also investigated paternal alcohol use during pregnancy and did not find a similar association.

“Many of the indirect factors that could explain the maternal effects are shared between mothers and partners (such as socio-demographic factors); despite this, we only found associations for mothers drinking.”

The UK has one of the worst rates of drinking while pregnant in Europe, according to a 2017 study published in The Lancet Global Health.

It is estimated that around 40 per cent of women in the UK consume alcohol during pregnancy.

Up until 2016, expectant mothers were advised they could safely drink up to one or two units, once or twice a week.