Booze truth: Drinking alcohol while pregnant alters kids’ facial features

CHILDREN whose mothers consume alcohol during pregnancy have different shaped faces compared to the babies of women who abstain while pregnant.

Pregnant woman with a glass of wine. Picture: Thinkstock

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CHILDREN whose mothers consume alcohol during pregnancy — even an occasional drink or in the first trimester — have subtly different shaped faces, compared to the offspring of women who abstain while pregnant.

With 30 to 40 per cent of pregnancies unplanned, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute researchers said their findings further strengthened guidelines women should give up alcohol while pregnant or planning to conceive.

While it is not yet known if the facial changes have any neurodevelopmental impact, researchers said the study clearly showed facial shape was affected by alcohol even in the first few weeks of gestation — often before a woman knows she is pregnant.

Researchers’ findings further strengthened guidelines that women should give up alcohol while pregnant or planning to conceive. Picture: Thinkstock

Researchers surveyed mothers about their drinking habits before and during pregnancy. Working with a team in Belgium, they used sophisticated 3D facial analysis, mapping about 70,000 individual dot points on the face of these children at 12 months of age to determine its shape.

While the differences were less than 2mm and not visible to the naked eye, the biggest structural impact was concentrated in the mid-face, nose, lips and eyes.

Lead author Evi Muggli said the findings were important to help shape advice to pregnant women, those wanting to conceive and women generally in their child-bearing years.

“We already know that high levels of drinking can cause problems in the child, but there is not much evidence of the ­effect on low, moderate or sporadic drinking, which is more common in the pregnant population,” Ms Muggli said.

“Some women may have had some alcohol before they even know they are pregnant, and we haven’t had the evidence to give them advice.”

The findings were published in the JAMA Pediatrics journal.

Chief investigator Professor Jane Halliday said it was not yet known whether these subtle differences in the shape of the face had any impact on brain development.

She said funding was being sought to further study these children, who will turn six next year.

With neurodevelopment a continuum throughout pregnancy and the first few years of a child’s life, Prof Halliday said there was much women could do to nurture the development of their child if they consumed alcohol while pregnant.

“This study is showing any level of alcohol can affect facial development,” she said.

“We don’t know if this has any impact on baby’s ­development.

“Healthy eating is important, keeping stress levels down and breastfeeding as long as possible once the baby is born — they all contribute to positive neurodevelopment,” Prof Halliday said.

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