A new method of prenatal alcohol classification accounting for dose, pattern and timing of exposure: improving our ability to examine fetal effects from low to moderate alcohol

Background When examining the association between prenatal alcohol exposure and fetal effects, the timing and intensity of exposure have been ignored in epidemiological studies. The effect of using dose, pattern and timing of consumption (composite method) was investigated in this study, to examine the association between prenatal alcohol exposure and fetal effects. Methods The composite method resulted in six categories of exposure (abstinent, low, moderate, binge