report provided during a pregnancy about peri-conceptional drinking, that is, before a woman knew she was pregnant, is often considered more reliable and to have greater predictive power for outcomes than in-pregnancy, antenatal report alone (e.g., Jacobson et al., 1991; 2002; Sokol, et al., 1985). The perceived greater reliability of this particular retrospective report is possibly due to reduced maternal denial regarding her drinking “out-of-pregnancy” (cf, Ernhart, et al., 1988; Morrow-Tlucak, et al., 1989).
