Fetal Alcohol Exposure: Consequences, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy is prevalent, with as many as 12% of pregnant women consuming alcohol. Alcohol intake may vary from an occasional drink, to weekly binge drinking, to chronic alcohol use throughout pregnancy. Whereas there are certain known consequences from fetal alcohol exposure, such as fetal alcohol syndrome, other effects are less well defined. Craniofacial dysmorphologies, abnormalities of organ systems, behavioral and intellectual deficits, and fetal death have all been attributed to maternal alcohol consumption. This review article considers the theoretical mechanisms of how alcohol affects the fetus, including the variable susceptibility to fetal alcohol exposure and the implications of ethanol dose and timing of exposure. Criteria for diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome are discussed, as well as new methods for early detection of maternal alcohol use and fetal alcohol exposure, such as the use of fatty acid ethyl esters. Finally, current and novel treatment strategies, both in utero and post utero, are reviewed.