Abstract 138

Background: Maternal smoking and alcohol consumption in pregnancy has a detrimental effect on CNS development. Fetal behaviour reflects CNS integrity providing a means of evaluating CNS functioning. This study investigated spontaneous fetal movements at 18-20 weeks of gestation.

Subjects: 146 fetuses were examined. Fetuses were divided into 4 groups: fetuses exposed to alcohol and cigarettes (n=39); fetuses exposed to alcohol (n=57). A range of movements were recorded.

Results: Fetuses exposed to maternal alcohol and smoking exhibited a deviant pattern of behaviour, p<0.05; and showed significantly more variation in the incidence of behaviours than fetuses of abstainers, p<0.05.

Conclusions: Fetuses exposed to maternal alcohol and smoking during pregnancy exhibit an altered pattern of behaviour compared to fetuses of abstaining mothers indicating neurobehavioural impairment.