Recent studies of offspring of chronic alcoholic women have revealed a pattern of malformation with accompanying brain dysfunction termed "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome". The present research is studying the extent to which heavy social drinking during pregnancy might be deleterious to the developing fetus. Two thousand pregnant women from a broad range of social class and ethnic backgrounds are being interviewed regarding beverage consumption habits during and prior to pregnancy. Outcome variables will be status of offspring at birth and functional integrity of the central nervous system as measured by neonatal behavior scales, neonatal operant learning procedures, and full mental, motor and behavioral assessments 8 and 18 months of age.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter