DRINKING DURING PREGNANCY AND SPONTANEOUS ABORTION

doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(80)90062-8

The Lancet

Volume 316, Issue 8187, 26 July 1980, Pages 176-180

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(80)90062-8 Get rights and content

Abstract

The frequency of drinking alcohol among 616 women who aborted spontaneously (cases) was compared with that among 632 women who delivered after at least 28 weeks gestation (controls). 17·0% of cases reported drinking twice a week or more during pregnancy whereas among controls, only 8·1% of women reported drinking twice a week or more. The hypothesis that drinking during pregnancy is associated with spontaneous abortion was tested by maximum-likelihood logistic regression analysis. The adjusted-odds ratio for this association was 2·62. We estimate that more than one-quarter of pregnant women drinking twice a week or more are likely to abort, compared with about 14% among women who drink less often. Consideration of wine, beer, and spirits separately suggested that the minimum harmful dosage was one ounce of absolute alcohol. Several potentially confounding variables, including maternal age, gestation, prior spontaneous abortions, smoking, and nausea/vomiting, were controlled in the analysis. The association between drinking during pregnancy and spontaneous abortion did not vary with these factors. Even moderate consumption of alcohol during pregnancy is a risk factor for, and may be a cause of, spontaneous abortion. Among the possible mechanisms, acute fetal poisoning seems the most likely, although chronic poisoning is also possible.

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DRINKING DURING PREGNANCY AND SPONTANEOUS ABORTION

Abstract

Early Human Development

Lancet

Lancet

Lancet

J Pediatr

J Pediatr

Am J Obstet

Early Human Development

Les enfants des parents alcooliques: anomalies observées

Quest Médicale

Fetal alcohol syndrome: Seven new cases

Am J Obstet Gynecol

Zur Klinik und Pathogenese der Alkohol-Embryopathie

Munch med Wschr

Brain malformations related to prenatal exposure to ethanol

J Pediatr

Test-retest reliability of three scales derived from quantity-frequency-variability assessment of self-reported alcohol consumption

Ann N Y Acad Sci

The fetal alcohol syndrome from the public health standpoint

Health Trends

The fetal alcohol syndrome

N Engl J Med