13 is Indeed Unlucky: 13 Drinks a Week During Pregnancy Affects Child's Brain Growth

Heavy exposure to alcohol while in mother's womb has long-term impact on children's brain development, a new study reveals.

For the small study, researchers included 70 children, aged between five and 15 whose mothers took more than 13 drinks per week throughout their pregnancy.

With the help of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, researchers examined the brain growth patterns of the participants.

They found parts of the brain, mainly the partial cortex crucial for selective attention and planned movement, adversely affected in children of mothers who reported heavy drinking during pregnancy.

Apart from that, heavy drinking was found increasing the risks of giving birth to children with lower intelligence and facial abnormalities.

"This study documents the long-term impact of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure on brain development," Dr. Ken R. Warren, acting director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), which provided most of the funding for the study, said in a news release.

"It underscores that heavy drinking during pregnancy often has lasting consequences for the child's growth and development, and reminds us that women who are, who may be, or who are trying to become pregnant, should not drink alcohol."

They also found 23 out of 37 children having fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

After finding the results shocking, the investigators urge for the need for early intervention to reduce the lasting effects.

"These findings further illustrate the need for early intervention, as they demonstrate that effective treatments may not only address current difficulties, but may also impact developmental trajectories during later childhood and adolescence in a positive way," said first author Dr. Catherine Lebel, a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles.

Results of the study have been published Oct.31 in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Citing the long list of health risks like birth defects, FASD and low birth weight, pregnant women are recommended to abstain from drinking during pregnancy. However, according to a latest estimate from CDC, one out of 13 women in the country consumes alcohol after conceiving a child. About 40, 0000 American babies are born with FASD every year.

According to American Pregnancy Association, a substance called teratogen in the alcohol harms human development and affects healthy growth of unborn baby. Alcohol that the mother consumes during pregnancy reaches the fetus through placenta and stays in the baby's blood longer compared to the mother.