[Effects of moderate maternal drinking on some neonatal parameters]

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2415 mother/newborn pairs, in order to evaluate the relationship between maternal alcohol consumption and birth weight. The results of this study are consistent with previous reports, that pointed out the casual relationship between maternal drinking during pregnancy, and reduction in birth weight. This reduction was evident only on the subset of smokers. A further stratification by the sex of newborn, showed a heavier effect on male newborns, who experienced a significant reduction of 6.2 grams in birth weight for each g of absolute alcohol consumed daily during pregnancy by mother. The findings of this study support the evidence of neonatal functional damages due to alcohol, even at very low doses. A strong increase of early jaundice were found among the outcome of exposed women (OD = 3.30; 95% CI 1.03-10.54).