Pregnant women with negative alcohol screens do drink less. A prospective study

The authors examined the antepartum alcohol consumption of 100 women with negative alcohol screens as they initiated prenatal care. Subjects completed a comprehensive assessment of their alcohol use at 15.7 +/- 4.9 weeks gestation and again 2 months after delivery, with 96% follow-up. The majority (87%) were abstinent in the 90-day period before study enrollment, while pregnant. Moreover, 92% drank no alcohol in the interval between study enrollment and delivery. These results are compared with the antepartum alcohol consumption of 250 women with positive alcohol screens. Routine prenatal screening can efficiently identify those at risk for alcohol consumption in the antepartum.