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Updated: Jul 30, 2026
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Published on: July 13, 2014
Infants exposed to alcohol prenatally: outcome at 3 and 7 months of age
M Van Der Leeden1, K Van Dongen, M Kleinhout
1Faculty of Movement Sciences, Free University, Van de Boechorststraat 9, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
To investigate early recognition of the consequences of alcohol exposure in utero, we studied 79 infants at the ages of 3 and 7 months. Twenty-nine of them were exposed to varying levels of maternal alcohol intake and 50 had no exposure and formed a control group. Special attention was paid to fetal alcohol syndrome-related facial features, neurological development and behavioural performance of the infants. To monitor facial features, pictures were taken at 3 and 7 months of age. Significant differences in facial features were found between the alcohol-exposed and non-exposed children at 3 months only. An age-adequate neurological examination showed no significant difference at 3 months but a significant difference at 7 months of age between the alcohol-exposed infants and the controls. Mothers reported more misbehaviour in the exposed than in the non-exposed group. These results indicate that it is possible to recognise alcohol-related defects within the 1st year of life thus allowing early intervention.
