Drinking moderately and pregnancy. Effects on child development

Abstract

Children exposed to moderate levels of alcohol during pregnancy show growth deficits and intellectual and behavioral problems similar to, although less severe than, those found in children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Research has begun to examine the extent to which these problems affect the child's ability to function on a day-to-day basis at school and with peers. Findings indicate that "moderate" drinking has much more impact on child development when the mother consumes several drinks in a single day than when she drinks the same quantity in doses of one to two drinks per day over several days.

Rate of functionally significant deficit among offspring of older and younger mothers prenatally exposed to alcohol either above or below the threshold of seven drinks per week during pregnancy. None of the differences among the younger mothers were significant. Asterisks indicate significant differences between the offspring of the older mothers exposed above and below the threshold. *p < 0.01; **p < 0.10. yr = years; drinks/wk = drinks per week. SOURCE: J.L. Jacobson et al. 1996.