Alcohol exposure during pregnancy altered childhood developmental trajectories in a rural South African community

Abstract

FAS/pFAS and prenatal alcohol exposure affected the Griffiths scores more than the control group. Efforts are needed to detect pregnancy early and reduce alcohol exposure.

The Early Developmental Outcomes of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: A Review

“…With the exception of nationally-representative population-based studies (24, 49, 71, 75, 78, 82, 95, 97, 101, 104–107) and a few studies that recruited exclusively middle-income participants (43–45), most samples were recruited from clinics that served low socioeconomic status (SES) communities. Negative effects of prenatal alcohol exposure were more apparent in studies conducted in low income countries (17, 29, 67) than studies conducted in high income countries (24, 75, 78, 101, 108). Studies ranged in the pattern of alcohol exposure including low to moderate levels of exposure (75), isolated binge drinking (82, 95), frequent heavy drinking (46) as well as the duration of exposure including early (49) and prolonged (72) exposure.…”

“…Generally, studies compared children with prenatal alcohol exposure with a control group (either abstainers or light drinkers) with less focus on children with an established FASD diagnosis. Only 7 studies focused on children diagnosed with FASDs (17, 29, 53, 66, 81, 102, 103), negative developmental outcomes associated with prenatal alcohol exposure were evident in all 7 studies. With the exception of nationally-representative population-based studies (24, 49, 71, 75, 78, 82, 95, 97, 101, 104–107) and a few studies that recruited exclusively middle-income participants (43–45), most samples were recruited from clinics that served low socioeconomic status (SES) communities.…”

“…Relative to other developmental stages, there is extensive literature on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure in the infant age-group. The majority of findings from developmental assessments are suggestive of global developmental impairment (i.e., impairment to both cognitive and motor domains) and developmental delay amongst infants with prenatal alcohol exposure (17, 29, 41, 46, 47, 51, 57, 59, 66, 72, 73, 76). However, developmental assessments of children in this age group did not always find impairments to both cognitive and motor domains.…”

“…These factors include the quantity, frequency, and timing of alcohol consumption during pregnancy (21–24), maternal risk factors (25–27), and genetic predispositions (28). In addition, postnatal socioeconomic and environmental influences may compound the outcomes related to prenatal alcohol exposure (29, 30). Due to the above mentioned influencing factors as well as variations in study design and methodologies, there are currently many knowledge gaps on the outcomes associated with prenatal alcohol exposure and research has yet to establish whether FASDs exhibit a unique neurocognitive profile (31).…”

Intimate Partner Violence and Food Insecurity Predict Early Behavior Problems Among South African Children over 5-years Post-Birth

“…In HICs, there is consistent evidence of the negative consequences of maternal depression on children's well-being [32,33]. Recently, these examinations have included cohorts in LMICs [34][35][36][37]; however, much less is understood about the impact of maternal mental health among mothers raising children in environments characterized by widespread poverty and food insecurity than in HICs.…”