After adjusting for prenatal confounding factors and disentangling binge-pattern and daily drinking, our findings suggest that a binge pattern of alcohol consumption during pregnancy (≥4 drinks in a day) is independently associated with higher levels of hyperactivity and inattention problems and lower academic attainment at age 11 years (Table 4). This pattern of drinking appeared to be an independent risk factor for these outcomes amongst offspring of mothers who did not drink daily during pregnancy, but only on an episodic basis. As in our earlier work [18], parent ratings suggested a higher risk of mental health problems amongst girls exposed to this episodic binge pattern of drinking. However, when outcomes were assessed using teacher ratings and academic attainment scores, both genders appear to be at risk through exposure to episodic binge-pattern drinking in the absence of daily drinking. In contrast, moderate levels of alcohol consumption (averaging at least one drink a day) during pregnancy in the absence of binge pattern of drinking were not associated with adverse outcomes at age 11.
