Medical students learn early in their education that alcohol is a teratogen. Despite this widespread knowledge, many obstetricians counsel patients about the safety of low doses of alcohol in pregnancy.1 Indeed, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ position on this is, “while the safest approach may be to avoid any alcohol during pregnancy, it remains the case that there is no evidence of harm from low levels of alcohol consumption, defined as no more than one or two units of alcohol once or twice a week.”2
Like many providers, I was aware of this controversy, but it became truly personal when a beloved family member was diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). In this paper, I will review some of the controversy regarding alcohol in pregnancy, highlight findings from the literature, provide tools for prevention, and identify new developments regarding this devastating, preventable condition.
Charlie
To know my nephew Charlie is to fall in love with my nephew Charlie. One of the happiest moments of my life was when I learned my brother and sister-in-law had adopted twins from Kazakhstan. When my little niece and nephew started their new life in the United States, certain medical issues seemed to merit additional attention. Although both were very small for their age and required significant nutritional support, Charlie seemed to be a bit more rambunctious and required additional supervision.
The children were fortunate enough to have incredibly loving, dedicated parents, who have access to exceptional medical care as residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After extensive testing, it became clear what was causing Charlie’s developmental delay; his pediatric team made the diagnosis of FAS. My brother and sister-in-law became incredibly well-read about this challenging disorder, and threw themselves into national advocacy work to help prevent this unnecessary tragedy.
Recent data point to teratogenicity, but media confuse the issue
Some recent media coverage3 of celebrities who apparently drank while pregnant was in response to an article in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.4 The authors of this study concluded that, “at age 5 years, cohort members born to mothers who drank up to one to two drinks per week or per occasion during pregnancy were not at increased risk of clinically relevant behavioral difficulties or cognitive deficits, compared with children of mothers in the not-in-pregnancy group.”
This is certainly not the first occasion the popular press has covered a published study that seems to indicate no ill effects of alcohol use in pregnancy. A 2008 report by Kelly and colleagues,5 and its subsequent media coverage, prompted the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group to state that the panel of experts was “alarmed” by recent newspaper reports suggesting that light drinking during pregnancy may be beneficial for an unborn child.6 They noted misleading and irresponsible media reports of the findings, which suggested that 3-year-old children whose mothers drank “lightly” during pregnancy were not at risk for certain behavioral problems.
What the study authors proceeded to note, however (that the media did not mention), was that the light drinkers in their study had socioeconomic advantages, compared with nondrinkers.5 (Advantaged economic status is established to be beneficial for childhood development.) They also noted that the study involved preschool-aged children, stating “Generally the adverse effects of light drinking during pregnancy are subtle and may go undetected in young children. However, other group studies of more moderate or ‘social’ drinking levels during pregnancy have shown an adverse impact on multiple aspects of development through adolescence and young adulthood, even when important environmental factors are taken into account.” A sentence I thought was most compelling in their statement was, “It is an inconvenient fact of life that alcohol is a teratogen.” Now, this fact is well supported in the literature.7
There are animal studies regarding the use of “low-dose” or “moderate” alcohol in pregnancy that demonstrate adverse behavioral outcomes with exposure to even small doses of alcohol.8,9 It is an American tragedy that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), rates of FAS in this country range from 0.2 to 2.0 cases per 1,000 live births. Indeed, the rates of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) might be at least three times this rate.10 As is the case with other disorders, there are health disparities regarding the prevalence of this condition as well.11
FAS: A long history of preventable disease
1973: Identified. FAS was first described in a 1973 Lancet report, “Pattern of malformation in offspring of chronic alcoholic mothers.”12
1996: Call for prevention. In 1995, the US Surgeon General issued a statement regarding alcohol use in pregnancy, noting, “We do not know what, if any, amount of alcohol is safe.”13 In 1996, the Institute of Medicine released a paper calling FAS and FASD “completely preventable birth defects and neurodevelopmental abnormalities.”14