First comprehensive study of prenatal fetal alcohol exposure in PEI newborns
A multidisciplinary team of researchers on PEI recently completed an anonymous, provincial, population-based study to determine the incidence of prenatal fetal alcohol exposure in PEI newborns. Meconium samples (i.e. a baby’s first bowel movements) were anonymously collected from the diapers of all babies born to PEI mothers over a one-year period, including those born at IWK in Halifax. Samples were tested for biomarkers of prenatal alcohol exposure (FAEE), a unique laboratory test developed at the Motherisk Laboratory in Toronto. Close to 1,300 samples were collected and tested; the study results show that at least 3.1% of PEI babies were exposed to frequent prenatal alcohol consumption after the first trimester of pregnancy, placing these children at risk for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
