A Fife partnership is using an international awareness day to warn of the dangers of drinking while pregnant.
The move came as it emerged 500 babies are born in Scotland every year already harmed by alcohol.
Conditions like fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and fetal alcohol syndrome are described as the leading known preventable cause of learning disability in Scotland.
Fife’s Health and Social Care Partnership is marking International FASD Awareness Day on Friday by raising awareness of how those starting families can protect themselves and their babies before and during pregnancy.
There is no established safe level of drinking set while planning a baby or pregnant.
Drinking alcohol in the very early stages and during pregnancy can result in intellectual and behavioural including problems with memory, judgement or impulse control, motor skills, learning, paying attention and low IQ.
Charmaine Bremner, midwifery sister and supervisor of midwives at Victoria Hospital’s maternity unit, said: “It’s never too late to stop drinking and there’s lots of advice and support available.
“Awareness needs to be better among young people, future parents and families and we all have a role to play.
“A baby in the womb gets its nourishment from the mother’s bloodstream.
“If the mother drinks alcohol, this easily passes from her blood through the placenta to her baby’s blood.”
She said a baby’s liver was one of the last organs to develop fully which means that the baby cannot process alcohol as well as the mother can and can cause damage to the brain or spinal cord.
“Avoiding alcohol completely when planning to conceive, during pregnancy or whilst breast feeding is the best way to be sure that baby will not be affected,” she added.
For those struggling with alcohol the Vulnerable In Pregnancy service may be able to help.
It was developed by NHS Fife midwifery services to target families where there is known substance addiction and concerns are identified at an early stage of pregnancy.
A personalised support plan is agreed with the women and their families who are then supported intensively by specialist health staff, nurses and social work staff from ante-natal registration until the baby was 12 weeks old.
Anyone who is pregnant and struggling with an alcohol problem can ask their midwife, doctor or pharmacist for support or advice.