The association between exposure to alcohol in pregnancy and longitudinal growth.
By Dr. Chinta SidharthanAug 29 2023Reviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLM In a recent study published in BMC Medicine, researchers examined the association between exposure to alcohol in the periconceptional and prenatal periods and longitudinal growth of the fetus, focusing on the quantity and timing of alcohol consumption.
Maternal alcohol exposure is known to cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders , which results in a wide range of somatic anomalies, craniofacial abnormalities, and neurodevelopmental disabilities. The data included in the present study only examined the South African cohort. They evaluated prenatal alcohol exposure longitudinally as a continuous variable, emphasizing the quantity and timing of alcohol exposure.
Fetal growth measurements were obtained from progressive ultrasound images, including head circumference, biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length. Accumulative alcohol exposure was linked to decreased growth of the fetal abdomen and femur and an overall lower birth weight.