Alcohol exposure prior to pregnancy-does hazardous consumption affect placenta- and inflammatory-mediated pregnancy outcomes? A Swedish population-based cohort study.

Apart from identifying hazardous alcohol consumption prior to pregnancy and the offer of counseling, screening with the AUDIT in early pregnancy indicates a high risk of inflammatory-/placenta-mediated pregnancy and birth outcomes. For most outcomes, AUDIT was not an independent contributor when adjusting for confounding factors. Hazardous alcohol use prior to pregnancy was independently linked to intrapartum and neonatal infections; conditions associated with morbidity and long-term sequalae. These associations may be explained by alcohol-induced changes in the maternal or fetal immune system in early pregnancy or persistent alcohol intake during pregnancy, or may depend on unidentified confounding factors.