by mid-pregnancy (Day et al., 1989; Floyd et al., 2005; Floyd et al., 2009) therefore many fetuses are exposed to EtOH during early stages of pregnancy. EtOH readily crosses the placenta; consequently, peak fetal blood EtOH levels are similar to the mother (Thomas and Riley, 1998). Although EtOH clearance is increased in pregnancy (Nava-Ocampo et al., 2004; Shankar et al., 2007), EtOH elimination capacity of the fetus is low, particularly in the early stages of pregnancy (Pikkarainen, 1971), and EtOH remains trapped in the amniotic fluid leading to reabsorption by the fetus, thereby prolonging exposure time (Brien et al., 1983; Nava-Ocampo et al., 2004).
