The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has issued a clinical guideline on routine antenatal care for healthy pregnant women. The guideline is an update from that issued in 2003, and covers the following:

• Woman-centred care and informed decision-making

• Provision and organisation of care

• Lifestyle considerations

• Management of common symptoms of pregnancy

• Clinical examination of pregnant women

• Screening for haematological conditions

• Screening for foetal anomalies

• Screening for infections

• Screening for clinical conditions

• Foetal growth and well-being

• Management of specific clinical conditions
The guideline does not provide advice on the management of women who are pregnant with more than one baby, women with certain medical conditions or women who develop a health problem during their pregnancy. The guideline has been produced in affiliation with the National Collaborating Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health.

This guideline has received huge press coverage for a change in previous recommendations on alcohol consumption, that stated that women beyond the first trimester of pregnancy should limit their alcohol consumption to no more than one standard unit per day. The new guideline now makes the following recommendations on alcohol consumption (taken directly from source):

• Pregnant women and women planning a pregnancy should be advised to avoid drinking alcohol in the first 3 months of pregnancy if possible because it may be associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.

• If women choose to drink alcohol during pregnancy they should be advised to drink no more than 1 to 2 UK units once or twice a week (1 unit equals half a pint of ordinary strength lager or beer, or one shot [25 ml] of spirits. One small [125 ml] glass of wine is equal to 1.5 UK units).

• Although there is uncertainty regarding a safe level of alcohol consumption in pregnancy, at this low level there is no evidence of harm to the unborn baby. Women should be informed that getting drunk or binge drinking during pregnancy (defined as more than 5 standard drinks or 7.5 UK units on a single occasion) may be harmful to the unborn baby.