Higher alcohol consumption in early pregnancy or low-to-moderate drinking during pregnancy may affect children's behaviour and development at one year and six months.

AIM: It is unclear whether low-to-moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy affects child development. This study examined the effects that a mother's self-reported alcohol consumption had on her pregnancy and her child's birth, behaviour and development.

METHODS: We asked 291 Swedish women to report their alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT); provide data on their pregnancy, labour and neonatal period; and complete a child behaviour and development questionnaire when their child was one year and six months of age. The mothers were separated into four subgroups based on their AUDIT scores.

RESULTS: There were no group differences in gestational length, but children were shorter at birth if their mother drank during pregnancy. Mothers with the highest alcohol consumption before pregnancy were generally younger and more likely to smoke, have unplanned pregnancies and have children who displayed behavioural problems than controls who reported abstinence before and during pregnancy. Mothers who drank more during pregnancy than before were more likely to have had abortions and unplanned pregnancies and less likely to breastfeed for more than six months.

CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy may negatively influence a child's development and behaviour in several ways.