Effects of ethanol and maternal nutritional status on fetal development

This study investigated the interactive effects of alcohol and nutritional status of the pregnant female on fetal growth and development. Three liquid diets were formulated ranging in protein content from suboptimal to supraoptimal: diet I provided 18% kcal as protein and 1.0 kcal/ml; diets II and III provided 25 and 32% kcal, respectively, as protein and 1.2 kcal/ml. In all cases, alcohol provided 36% of total calories. Both pair-fed and ad libitum fed control groups were included. We found that blood alcohol levels were consistently high in all three diet regimens throughout gestation. Alcohol intake suppressed weight gains and increased adrenal weights and placenta weights in pregnant females. Both body weights and brain weights were reduced in alcohol-exposed fetuses. However, relative brain weights were found to be increased in alcohol fetuses, indicating "brain sparing." Maternal nutritional status had no major effect on developmental outcome. Thus, with alcohol administered as a high proportion of total daily calories, increasing dietary protein levels did not attenuate the major adverse effects of alcohol on fetal development.