Did you ever drink more? A detailed description of pregnant women's drinking patterns

Abstract

Background: This paper presents drinking patterns in a prospective study of a population-based cohort of 1570 pregnant women using a combination of dose and timing to give best estimates of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). Novel assessments include women's special occasion drinking and alcohol use prior to pregnancy recognition. Methods: Information on up to nine types of alcoholic drink, with separate frequencies and volumes, including drinking on special occasions outside a 'usual' pattern, was collected for the periconceptional period and at four pregnancy time points. Weekly total and maximum alcohol consumption on any one occasion was calculated and categorised. Drinking patterns are de..