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Background Teratogenicity of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is established, but uncertainty remains regarding the impact of moderate alcohol exposure on cognitive deficits in infants. Separating in utero effects from environmental confounding is a challenge for observational studies; consideration of alcohol use by partners as well as mothers may help clarify this. This study examined associations between prenatal alcohol use by both mothers and their partners and infant cognitive developmental outcomes at 12-months. Methods Pregnant women (n = 1331) and their partners (n = 699) were recruited from antenatal clinics of three metropolitan public hospitals in Australia, and completed detailed interviews about alcohol consumptions throughout pregnancy. Infants were assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development − Third edition (Bayley) at 12-months of age. Results Alcohol use during pregnancy was reported by 65.7% of mothers and 84.1% of partners. Using multiple methods to adjust for confounding factors, no evidence for impaired cognitive ability associated with alcohol use by mothers or their partners was observed. Children born to women who drank low-levels of alcohol had slightly higher Bayley cognitive scores than those born to abstaining women. There was some evidence for an interaction between sociodemographic factors and prenatal alcohol exposure on infant cognitive outcomes. Conclusion This finding corroborates existing evidence to suggest there are no detrimental effects to infant cognitive development at 12-months of age following low-level prenatal alcohol exposure. Future prospective studies involving families of a broad range of backgrounds would be informative to clarify interaction between alcohol exposure and environmental factors on developmental outcomes.

Clare McCormack1, D. Hutchinson1, Lucy Burns1, Judy Wilson1, Elizabeth Elliott2, Steve Allsop3, Jake Najman4, C. Olsson5, Sue Jacobs6, Anne Bartu7, Richard P. Mattick1 1 National Drug And Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia 2 Paediatrics and Child Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia 3 National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia 4 Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research Education Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 5 Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia 6 Department of Obstetrics, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia 7 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia