Alcohol exposure in pregnancy (fetus)
Alcohol can harm a baby at any stage of pregnancy, including the earliest weeks before a woman knows she is pregnant. Drinking in pregnancy can cause a group of conditions called fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), which last a lifetime. No amount of alcohol in pregnancy has been shown to be safe. To prevent FASDs, health agencies advise not drinking alcohol while pregnant or when you might become pregnant.
- Risk factor
- In this atlas
Overview
Technical summary
Sources are two US government pages: the MedlinePlus health topic on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (summary credited to a US federal public health agency, last updated August 19, 2024) and the NIAAA fact sheet (updated December 2025). NIAAA ranks alcohol in pregnancy among the main preventable causes of birth defects and developmental disorders in the United States, and cites 2023 national survey data in which 8.4% of pregnant women said they were currently drinking. This record has no clinical claim: it describes an exposure, and it states no effect size or threshold. The NIAAA page is cite-only until its reuse terms are read.
Definition
Alcohol that reaches the fetus because the mother drinks during pregnancy. It is the exposure behind fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
- Type
- Exposure
Contexts
None stated in this record.
Claims and evidence
No claims are published for this risk factor yet.
Record details
- Record id
maternal:prenatal-alcohol-exposure- Content hash
6c2daf877ad31657ea4c8ca3dd0c97276c95f875dc37e0045584b0510da6f40a