The World Health Organisation ( WHO) is calling on women ages 18 to 50 (child bearing years) to refrain from drinking alcohol as it can seriously damage their unborn child.

The WHO’s Global Alcohol Action Plan, declared: “One of the most dramatic manifestations of harm is to babies and the development of foetal alcohol disorders.

“Symptoms in children exposed to alcohol in the womb can include poor growth, distinct facial features and learning and behavioral disorders.”

The report is calling on countries to raise awareness about the risk and harms to women wanting to bear children, associated with drinking alcohol.

The report states: “It is necessary to raise awareness among decision-makers and the general public about the risks and harms associated with alcohol consumption.

“Appropriate attention should be given to the prevention of the initiation of drinking among pregnant women and women of childbearing age, and protection of people from pressures to drink, especially in societies with high levels of alcohol consumption where heavy drinkers are encouraged to drink even more.”

The UK’s National Health Service advises people not to consume more than 14 units of alcohol a week; that’s about six pints or 10 small glasses of wine.

There has been considerable backlash against the WHO’s plan with Christopher Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs saying that it is “unscientific, patronising and absurd”.

Matt Lambert, of the Portman Group, added: “We are extremely concerned by the WHO calling on countries to prevent drinking among women of childbearing age in their latest action plan.

“As well as being sexist and paternalistic and potentially restricting the freedoms of most women, it goes well beyond their remit and is not rooted in science.”

Dr Thomas O’Connor, who is an OBGYN in New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, said: “Drinking alcohol in the early stages of pregnancy can be harmful to a foetus.”