Put down the vino, women. If you're not on birth control you shouldn't be drinking.

It’s safe to say that America’s leading public health agency has overstepped the mark with its latest campaign to deter women — in particular young, fertile women — from drinking.

The risks of drinking during pregnancy are well established and educating women about them is crucial.

If you are pregnant, it’s generally recommended that you abstain from alcohol for the duration of your pregnancy, to avoid potential harm to your unborn baby.

With that in mind, if you are in the position of trying for a child, it may also be worth limiting your intake of booze, just in case.

What is absurd, is the idea that any woman at risk of pregnancy — ie. any fertile woman of child-rearing age who is not using a reliable form of contraception — should also be putting down the vino.

And yet this was the message that was shared by the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday.

The CDC claim that 3 million-plus American women — aged 15-44 — are at risk of “alcohol exposed pregnancy” simply because they might fall pregnant.

Their reasoning is as follows:

“About half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and even if planned, most women won’t know they are pregnant for the first month or so, when they might still be drinking. The risk is real. Why take the chance?”

Here’s the thing, according to Drinkwise Australia, if you unknowingly consume a small number of drinks in the early days of your pregnancy the risk of harming your baby is low.

They advise that “once you know you’re pregnant it’s safest to stop drinking alcohol completely for the rest of your pregnancy and while you’re breastfeeding,” which is incredibly sound advice.

Unfortunately, this is not the only ludicrous claim related to women and alcohol being made by the CDC.

According to their website (and the below handy infographic, which can be found there), the number one risks to women from “drinking to much” are alcohol and violence.

They also seem to suggest that having eight or more drinks can give you an STI or can in fact impregnate you, so to be honest, I’d be taking their advice with a grain of salt.

Basically, you can drink responsibly for your health, use contraception to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and still have a few beers at the pub this weekend.