Alcohol drinking and intrauterine dystrophia. Effects and significance in infancy
Schöneck, U.; Spohr, H.L.; Willms, J.; Steinhausen, H.C.
Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde Organ der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Kinderheilkunde 140(1): 34-41
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0026-9298 PMID: 1565106 Document Number: 394092
In a prospective study intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (less than 10. growth percentile at birth) was used as a predictor to diagnose intrauterine alcohol exposure. An interview about maternal alcohol consumption was performed prenatally--when IUGR was diagnosed by ultrasound--or postnatally. The children were followed up to 18 months of age. In 6/47 children we diagnosed various degrees of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome FAS, with only one patient showing a full blown syndrome at birth. 5 patients could not be identified until the pediatric reexamination at the age of 8-18 months. IUGR and a maternal history of even moderate drinking during pregnancy should emphasize the possibility of an intrauterine alcohol damage, even in a normal child at birth.