New Research: Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy Poses Risks to Grandchildren and Even Great-Grandchildren

Every pregnant woman knows the warning not to drink alcohol during the months of pregnancy. Nonetheless, not enough women take this warning seriously enough. A new study shows that alcohol consumption during pregnancy harms not only the baby in the womb but also the children and grandchildren of that baby.

The research, conducted by Professor Kelly Huffman from the University of California, examined what happens to pregnant mice that consumed alcohol. The first generation, as expected, exhibited FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, which results mainly in brain damage and severe cognitive and developmental problems). There was abnormal development of the neural network in their neocortex, and they had many functional difficulties. The surprise came when examining the second and third generations: although these mice were not exposed to alcohol in the womb, they had developmental and behavioral problems similar to those of the mice exposed to alcohol while they were embryos. "Traditionally, exposure to alcohol through maternal consumption was considered to affect only the fetus that was directly exposed," says Professor Huffman. "However, we now have evidence that prenatal alcohol exposure can negatively impact future generations, even if they themselves were never exposed to alcohol in the womb."

"We found that body weight and brain size were significantly smaller than normal across all three generations of mice compared to the control group, all descendants of the alcohol-consuming mouse showed symptoms of anxiety, depression, and motor and sensory problems... We propose, therefore, that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a condition that can be inherited in humans as well," the study concludes.