Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy has been linked to having a low birth weight infant. While many studies have found a significant relationship, others have not. In view of these inconsistencies, the authors examined the relationship between maternal alcohol use and birth outcomes using the 1991 Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set, a national data set that provides unique possibilities for analyzing maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and birth outcomes. The study population for this research consists of single births occurring to women who gave birth in the United States in 1991 and infant deaths occurring to this birth cohort. After eliminating cases from states that did not report alcohol consumption on the birth certificates, the population of women who drank during pregnancy is 60,249 (3% of total cases). This study will examine the effects of different levels of maternal drinking during pregnancy and other variables of interest including maternal age and race, smoking during pregnancy, parity, adequacy of prenatal care, marital status, and mothers educational level on birth outcomes. Preliminary analysis indicates that more than 77.0% of the women who drank during pregnancy had 1-2 drinks a week, 12.0% had 3-4 drinks per week, and 10.0% had five drinks or more per week. Approximately 9.0% of the women who drank up to two drinks a week had low birth weight infants as compared with 15.5% of women who drank 3-4 drinks a week and 22.4% of women who drank five or more drinks per week.
Learning Objectives: This study will examine the effects of different levels of maternal drinking during pregnancy and other variables of interest including maternal age and race, smoking during pregnancy, parity, adequacy of prenatal care, marital status, and mothers educational level on birth outcomes
Keywords: Alcohol, Pregnancy Outcomes
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.