Clinical correlations between ethanol intake and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a cluster of features observed in some offspring of women who abuse alcohol in pregnancy. The defining features include intrauterine growth retardation, specific craniofacial dysmorphology, and central nervous system dysfunction. FAS is a full expression of a continuum of fetal alcohol effects. The assessment of alcohol abuse is one of several major problems in the study of the topic. Research findings are reviewed under a hypothesis of increasing effect in ordered categories: lethal effects, adverse obstetrical outcomes, malformations, growth retardation, reduced head circumference, and neuropsychological effects. Evidence of fetal alcohol effects may be found for each outcome category. The evidence across studies is not consistent nor is there any clear support for an effect order. The risk for psychological deficit may depend on the presence of dysmorphic effects.