Jl. Jacobson et al., EFFECTS OF PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO ALCOHOL, SMOKING, AND ILLICIT DRUGS ON POSTPARTUM SOMATIC GROWTH, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 18(2), 1994, pp. 317-323
The association of fetal growth retardation with prenatal exposure to
alcohol, smoking, opiates, and cocaine is well documented, but relativ
ely little is known about the effects of these exposures on postpartum
growth. This study assessed physical growth from birth through 6.5 an
d 13 months in 412 black, inner-city infants recruited on the basis of
their mothers' use of alcohol and/or cocaine during pregnancy. Prenat
al alcohol exposure was associated with a slower rate of growth during
the first 6.5 postpartum months. This postnatal growth retardation wa
s associated with maternal drinking during a critical period-the latte
r part of gestation-and was not related to drinking at the time of con
ception or to postnatal exposure to alcohol from breast-feeding. By co
ntrast, smoking and cocaine use during pregnancy were associated with
faster postnatal weight gain. Although maternal smoking was correlated
with shorter stature at 6.5 and 13 months, this effect was attributab
le to maternal drinking during pregnancy, suggesting that the associat
ion of maternal smoking with shorter childhood stature reported elsewh
ere may be due to prenatal alcohol exposure, which was not controled i
n prior studies.