This paper presents the drinking patterns of pregnant women in a large cohort study (Asking Questions about Alcohol in Pregnancy, or AQUA) underway in Melbourne, Australia, using a composite method to assess patterns of alcohol consumption [19, 20]. AQUA is unique in that, after focus group testing [21], a question on special occasion drinking was included to allow for collection of information on drinking episodes which fall outside a ‘usual’ pattern. This question was to encourage disclosure of infrequent events where alcohol use was higher than normal. Maternal characteristics are examined for different pregnancy alcohol consumption patterns, with a view to providing information which assists in early recognition of women who may drink alcohol prior to pregnancy awareness and/or those who continue to drink throughout pregnancy.
