Current data clearly point to an association between chronic maternal alcoholism and serious morphological and developmental abnormalities in the fetus. When these abnormalities are severe the condition is recognizable as the fetal alcohol syndrome. However, this represents only the most severe end of a spectrum of abnormalities, some of which may be found in a proportion of infants exposed to lesser amounts of alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol is an avoidable hazard for the fetus, but only through increased awareness by the medical community and improved education of the lay public may we hope to control this problem.
目前的数据清楚地表明，母亲长期酗酒与胎儿严重的形态和发育异常之间存在关联。当这些异常严重时，这种情况可被识别为胎儿酒精综合征。然而，这只是一系列异常情况中最严重的一端，其中一些异常可能在一部分孕期接触较少酒精量的婴儿中出现。酒精对胎儿来说是一种可避免的危害，但只有通过医学界提高认识以及加强对普通大众的教育，我们才有望控制这个问题。
