Light to moderate drinking during pregnancy may lead to learning and memory deficits in a...( Heavy drinking during pregnancy ca...),Health

• Heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause major impairments in the developing child.
• New research indicates that light to moderate drinking may also interfere with learning and memory as late as adolescence, particularly in the auditory/verbal domain.
• Most of the drinking in this study occurred during the first trimester.

Many people know about the dangers of prenatal alcohol exposure, particularly the damaging effects that heavy drinking can cause to a child's cognitive development. A study published in the March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found that even light to moderate drinking during pregnancy may interfere with learning and memory during adolescence.

"We have known for a long time that drinking heavily during pregnancy could lead to major impairments in growth, behavior, and cognitive function in children," said Jennifer Willford, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the study's first author. "This paper clearly shows that even small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy can have a significant impact on child development."

"Learning and memory are cornerstones for success in school and in everyday life," added Sarah Mattson, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, and associate director of the Center for Behavioral Teratology at San Diego State University. "Disruption of the ability to learn and remember new information jeopardizes the job of children, that is, to go to school. The inability to learn new information in the verbal or nonverbal domain will interfere with a child's ability to achieve alongside his or her peers."

The data examined in this study were collected as part of the Maternal Health Practices and Child Development Project (MHPCD), an ongoing longitudinal study of 580 children and their mothers. The MHPCD examines the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol, mari
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14-Mar-2004