Identifying Social Drinkers Likely to Consume Alcohol during Pregnancy: Findings from a Prospective Cohort Study

To prevent fetal alcohol syndrome, some social drinkers who may become pregnant need more than a brief caution, but they can be difficult to detect in clinical settings. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data from 754 women who completed up to four alcohol history interviews during their college-age years (18-21), and semiparametric group-based models were used to identify groups more likely to drink during a future pregnancy. Two drinking trajectories were observed. About 87% of the women were occasional or nondrinkers during their college-age years; 13% were frequent drinkers. Among first-births to women 22 yr. and older, the adjusted odds ratio for alcohol use during that pregnancy for frequent drinkers versus occasional and nondrinkers was 2.29 (95% confidence interval: 1.25—4.17). This finding suggests women who report frequent drinking during their college-age years may require additional assistance to reduce their risk of drinking during subsequent pregnancies.