Alcohol’s Impact on the Fetus

Abstract

Background: Alcohol is a teratogen and prenatal exposure may adversely impact the developing fetus, increasing risk for negative outcomes, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Global trends of increasing alcohol use among women of childbearing age due to economic development, changing gender roles, increased availability of alcohol, peer pressure and social acceptability of women’s alcohol use may put an increasing number of pregnancies at risk for prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). This risk has been exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in some countries. Method: This literature review presents an overview on the epidemiology of alcohol use among childbearing age and pregnant women and FASD by World Health Organization regions; impact of PAE on fetal health, including FASD; associated comorbidities; and social outcomes. Results/Conclusion: The impact of alcohol on fetal health and social outcomes later in life is enormous, placing a huge economic burden on countries. Prevention of prenatal alcohol exposure and early identification of affected individuals should be a global public health priority.

Mitigating the detrimental developmental impact of early fetal alcohol exposure using a maternal methyl donor‐enriched diet

“…It is now recognized that fetal alcohol exposure during any gestation period can have serious teratogenic effects on embryo development and lead to FASD, [1][2][3][4][5]14 yet the impact of alcohol exposure during the preimplantation period, a particularly vulnerable developmental window, 83 remains considerably understudied. Although FASD is a worldwide public health burden, 12,131 there are no tangible measures to proactively mitigate the effects of fetal alcohol exposure prior to birth.…”

Sexual Dimorphism in the Expression of Cardiac and Hippocampal Renin-Angiotensin and Kallikrein–Kinin Systems in Offspring from Mice Exposed to Alcohol during Gestation

“…Moreover, it is estimated that the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy in the world population is 9.8% [ 10 ]. When consumed by pregnant women, alcohol is particularly harmful to the developing fetus [ 11 , 12 ]. Prenatal exposure to alcohol (PAE) is a challenging public health problem, and alcohol can induce, in the fetus, severe physical and mental impairments described as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) [ 13 ] or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) [ 14 ].…”

“…Furthermore, in adult mammals, PAE affects hippocampal neurogenesis [ 19 ]. PAE also severely affects the heart, leading to congenital cardiac diseases [ 20 ] These dysfunctions mostly result in miscarriage or are detected at birth in survival children [ 12 ]. However, the effects of ethanol on the heart of adults with PAE are little explored.…”

Risk Assessment for Birth Defects in Offspring of Chinese Pregnant Women

“…About 20% of birth defects are caused by simple chromosomal aberrations or gene mutations, and the remaining about 80% are caused by environmental factors or the gene–environment interaction [ 8 ]. Previous epidemiological studies have shown that mothers with lower socioeconomic status, drinking, tobacco exposure, occupational exposure, air-pollution exposure, and gestational diabetes mellitus were related to the increased risk of birth defects [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Therefore, an in-depth investigation of the potential causes of birth defects, especially environmental risk-exposure factors that could require intervention, is a key step for prenatal education and primary prevention.…”