title: Breastfeeding and maternal alcohol use: Prevalence and effects on child outcomes and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
abstract: Determine any effects that maternal alcohol consumption during the breastfeeding period has on child outcomes.
  
  
  
  Population-based samples of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), normally-developing children, and their mothers were analyzed for differences in child outcomes.
  
  
  
  Ninety percent (90%) of mothers breastfed for an average of 19.9 months. Of mothers who drank postpartum and breastfed (MDPB), 47% breastfed for 12 months or more. In case control analyses, children of MDPB were significantly lighter, had lower verbal IQ scores, and more anomalies in comparisons controlling for prenatal alcohol exposure and final FASD diagnosis. Utilizing a stepwise logistic regression model adjusting for nine confounders of prenatal drinking and other maternal risks, MDPB were 6.4 times more likely to have a child with FASD than breastfeeding mothers who abstained from alcohol while breastfeeding.
  
  
  
  Alcohol use during the period of breastfeeding was found to significantly compromise a child's development.
authors.affiliation: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nutrition Research Institute, United States; The University of New Mexico, Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions, United States; Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa. Electronic address: philip_may@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: May
authors.affiliation: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nutrition Research Institute, United States.
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hasken
authors.affiliation: The University of New Mexico, Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions, United States.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blankenship
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa.
authors.forename: Anna-Susan
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Marais
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa.
authors.forename: Belinda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Joubert
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa.
authors.forename: Marise
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cloete
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa.
authors.forename: Marlene M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ronel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barnard
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa.
authors.forename: Isobel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Botha
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa.
authors.forename: Sumien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roux
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa.
authors.forename: Cate
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doms
authors.affiliation: The University of New Mexico, Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions, United States.
authors.forename: J Phillip
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gossage
authors.affiliation: The University of New Mexico, Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions, United States.
authors.forename: Wendy O
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Kalberg
authors.affiliation: The University of New Mexico, Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions, United States.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.affiliation: State University of New York, Buffalo, Department of Pediatrics, United States.
authors.forename: Luther K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: University of Cape Town, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, South Africa.
authors.forename: Colleen M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Adnams
authors.affiliation: Stanford University School of Medicine, Departments of Pathology and Pediatrics, United States.
authors.forename: Melanie A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa; Medical Research Council of South Africa, Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Research Unit, South Africa.
authors.forename: Charles D H
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Parry
authors.affiliation: Sanford Research, University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, United States.
authors.forename: H Eugene
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Hoyme
authors.affiliation: California State University, Northridge, United States.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tabachnick
authors.affiliation: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South Africa.
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seedat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Alcohol; Breastfeeding; Child health and development; Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD); Pregnancy