Alcohol is harmful throughout pregnancy.

There are no safe amounts or times and the advice is not to drink alcohol when you are or suspect you may be pregnant.

But the National Food Administration is now supplementing its advice and says that moderate amounts of "non-alcoholic" drinks are okay, even if they contain small amounts of alcohol.

- We have received a lot of questions from pregnant women about these very things.

Therefore, we have thoroughly investigated the effects of small amounts of alcohol and can now give well-founded advice, says Vendela Roos, toxicologist at the National Food Administration.

Moderate amounts

Beer, wine and cider that say "non-alcoholic" often contain a small amount of alcohol, below 0.5% by volume.

According to the new advice, pregnant women can drink these in moderation, up to one liter per week.

If everything is drunk on the same day, it should be spread over a few hours.

You can also eat food that contains beer or wine, such as a wine sauce or stew.

But only if they are cooked, and it takes longer than many people think before the alcohol has evaporated.

- It is not the case that the dish becomes alcohol-free as soon as it is cooked.

As a rule of thumb, a pot of wine or beer needs to boil for at least half an hour and a sauce needs to be reduced to half to drain enough alcohol, says Vendela Roos.

Hold on to flambéing

In foods that can naturally contain very small amounts of alcohol, such as kefir and juice, the content is negligible.

Sauces with a tablespoon of, for example, brandy or chocolate pralines that contain liquid alcohol are usually eaten in small quantities.

They therefore probably pose a very small risk during pregnancy.

However, some dishes, such as spirits, flambéed dishes, unheated dishes or desserts with alcohol, may contain more alcohol per serving.

Pregnant women should not eat large amounts of these dishes, but it probably involves a very small risk of eating a little neighbor once in a while.

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The fathers 'alcohol consumption can also affect the pregnancy, says Susanne Åhlund, midwife and board member of the Midwives' Association.