BACKGROUND Ethanol is the most widely used drug in the world and a human teratogen whose consumption among women of childbearing age has been steadily increasing. There are no Italian or Spanish statistics on ethanol consumption during pregnancy nor any information regarding prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). There is also a reasonable suspic...

Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a significant field of scientific exploration primarily because of its negative effects on the developing fetus, which is specifically defined as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Though the effects on the mother are less explored compared with those on the fetus, alcohol produces multiple effects on the maternal vascular system. Alcohol has majo...

A variety of developmental defects occur as a result of prenatal exposure to alcohol (ethanol) in utero. In humans [5], those defects are collectively classified as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome [6] (FAS) representing the more severe defects. FAS is defined by preand post-natal growth retardation [7], minor facial abnormalities, and deficiencies in the central ne...

A variety of developmental defects occur as a result of prenatal exposure to alcohol (ethanol) in utero. In humans [5], those defects are collectively classified as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome [6] (FAS) representing the more severe defects. FAS is defined by preand post-natal growth retardation [7], minor facial abnormalities, and deficiencies in the central ne...