A Cochrane review included 4 studies with a total of 715 pregnant women reporting used some or at least 1 drink a month. This review did not focus on pregnant women participating in treatment programmes for alcohol abuse or dependence. One intervention consisted of a 45-minute educational counselling plus a leaflet vs no active intervention and another of 1 hour motivational interviewing vs letter, both of these offered a monetary incentive for all participants. The 2 other interventions consisted of brief 15-minute intervention by nutriotinist vs advise to stop and a cognitive-behavioural self-help intervention vs usual care. For most outcomes there were no significant differences between groups; and results relating to abstaining or reducing alcohol consumption were mixed. Results from individual studies suggest that interventions may encourage women to abstain from alcohol in pregnancy. There was very little information provided on the effects of interventions on the health of mothers and babies.
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by several shortcomings in study quality, by inconsistency (heterogeneity in interventions and outcomes), and by imprecise results (limited study size for each comparison) .