Everyone knows that alcohol is a big no-no if you’re pregnant. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), causing lifelong physical, behavioural and cognitive impairments.
It seems that the father’s drinking pre-conception can have a significant effect on unborn babies as well.
A 2023 study from a group of US scientists has found that a father’s heavy drinking in the months leading up to conception can affect a child’s development in the womb.
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Of particular note was the potential impact on in-utero growth rates affecting the eyes, head, mouth and jaw.
This form of FASD bears similarities to facial changes in babies whose mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy, with previous research showing that affected babies may have shorter and more upturned noses.
While this has previously been associated with maternal drinking, this new study sheds light on the effects a father’s drinking can have on their prospective offspring.
"When it was the dad drinking, we saw a profound shift in the organisation of the face,” said Professor Michael Holding, a developmental physiologist from Texas A&M University.
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"Chronic male alcohol exposure (defined as consuming more than five drinks per day in a four-hour window) could drive core fetal alcohol syndrome birth defects."
The study found that the children of heavy-drinking fathers were much more likely to have small eyes, smaller faces, and small mouths.
These factors can have a litany of knock-ons later in life. For example, a child with a smaller mouth is more likely to have crowded adult teeth requiring dental interventions.
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Other effects could include ears developing further down the babies’ heads as compared with babies whose fathers didn’t drink. Birth weights are also likely to be smaller in affected children.
If all that wasn’t enough, babies of heavy-drinking fathers also have an increased risk of microcephaly, meaning an underdeveloped head and brain.
And on top of this, these babies were more at risk of developing microcephaly, which sees the underdevelopment of the head and brain.
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This isn’t the only study to point to fathers’ drinking having an impact on their children. Another US study found a correlation between heavy-drinking fathers and children with heightened drug-taking tendencies, although this could also be chalked up to kids being influenced by parents’ drug and alcohol use as they grow up.
In sum, if you’re trying for a baby then it seems it’s best to put the booze away.
Rachael Davis