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Light drinking during pregnancy may affect babies’ brain development, according to a study that looked for signs of alcohol exposure in newborns’ faeces.

Although it’s well-established that heavy drinking during pregnancy is linked to intellectual disabilities and altered facial features in children, less is known about the effects of light drinking.

Studying this has been difficult, since mothers are often reluctant to admit any level of drinking during pregnancy due to the associated stigma, says Anna Eichler at the University Hospital Erlangen in Germany.

To get around this, Eichler and her colleagues looked for signs of alcohol …