Factors affecting the outcome of maternal alcohol exposure: II. Maternal age.

Despite relatively comparable amounts of alcohol ingestion, not all women who drink excessively give birth to children with fetal alcohol effects. The present study evaluated how maternal age affects the outcome of pregnancy in maternal rats of different ages. All dams were nulliparous and were 66, 121 or 156 days at time of treatment. Alcohol was administered at a dose of 3.5 g/kg, twice daily on gestation days 11-21. Alcohol had a greater impact on offspring born to older- and middle-age dams than to younger dams on a number of attributes including neonatal mortality and birth weight.