Call for liquor labels to warn pregnant women

Mandatory labels should be placed on alcohol warning women of the dangers of drinking while pregnant, a parliamentary committee has recommended.

This is the second time Parliament's health select committee has recommended such action.

The committee has been considering the petition of Shirley Ann Winikerei and 478 others asking for legislation to recognise foetal alcohol spectrum disorder as a notifiable disability.

The committee wants legislation or standards requiring mandatory warning labels to be placed on all types of alcoholic liquor to remind women of the dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant.

It said there should be increased monitoring of and research into the disorder, and that a policy of encouraging women not to drink any alcohol during pregnancy should be adopted.

The committee also said the Government must ensure adequate resourcing was available to provide improved assessment for a range of disorders affecting children, including foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

It wants disability data and health status information collected on all children, and to ensure any policy relating to the disorder is based on current international research.

Green MP Nandor Tanczos said foetal alcohol syndrome was "a terrible but preventable birth defect that is largely unacknowledged in society".

- NZPA