The Seattle longitudinal prospective study on alcohol and pregnancy

Abstract

An unselected sample of 1529 women (predominantly white, married, and middle-class) were interviewed during pregnancy regarding their use of alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, drugs, and other variables. Subsets of offspring were examined to assess the relationship of self-reported maternal alcohol use to infant health and development. Multiple regression statistical tests were utilized to permit adjustment for other possibly confounding factors. The following are among those outcomes significantly related to increase maternal alcohol use after adjusting for smoking and other variables: smaller infant size (birth weight, length and head circumference); lower Apgar scores; poorer neonatal habituation; decreased sucking pressure; increased tremulousness and head-turns-to-left; decreased vigorous activity; and a higher frequency of minor dysmorphic characteristics combined with low birth weight and microcephaly. A drinking by smoking interaction was related to poorer newborn conditioning in two separate studies. Significantly lower mental and motor development and lower length and weight were found on follow-up of 468 infants at age 8 months. Follow-up studies continue.