Effects of maternal alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine use during pregnancy on infant mental and motor development at eight months.

Infant mental and motor development at 8 mo of age is significantly related to maternal alcohol use during early pregnancy. Data on 462 infants were analyzed with multiple regression techniques, adjusting for effects of nicotine, caffeine, gestational age, parity, and maternal education. Other possible intervening variables were evaluated and not found to explain the results. This study presents further evidence that maternal alcohol use during pregnancy at levels of about four drinks per day and above has an adverse effect on offspring, even in a sample that is basically low risk.