Medical News Today

Even low levels of alcohol during pregnancy may alter the facial development of offspring.

A new study affirms that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, after finding that even the occasional drink can affect a baby's facial development.

Researchers from Belgium and Australia assessed the drinking habits of more than 400 women during pregnancy and mapped the facial features of their offspring at the age of 1 year.

The team found that prenatal alcohol exposure - even at low levels - subtly influenced the formation of facial features in the womb, including the nose, chin, and eyes.

Study co-leader Evi Muggli, of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia, and colleagues recently reported their results in JAMA Pediatrics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that there is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy, nor is there a safe time to drink alcohol while pregnant.

However, a 2015 study from the CDC found that around 1 in 10 expectant mothers in the United States report having consumed alcohol within the past 30 days.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can cause a number of physical and developmental problems for offspring, including low birthweight, learning disabilities, small head size, intellectual disabilities, and problems with vision or hearing. These conditions fall under the umbrella of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

It is also known that prenatal alcohol exposure can influence a child's facial development, though the level of alcohol intake that causes such an effect has been unclear.

For their study, Muggli and colleagues set out to investigate how different levels of prenatal alcohol exposure affect facial development.