Fetal central nervous system development and alcohol - the evidence so far

This is the Author’s Original Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Fetal and Pediatric Pathology on 23 March 2012 , available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.3109/15513815.2012.659398. Currently in the UK, there is no absolute guidance about alcohol consumption in pregnancy. The guidance for drinking during pregnancy is one or two units of alcohol one or two times weekly, but conservative advice is to abstain as a cautionary measure. Despite the lack of consensus about the safe levels of alcohol consumption in pregnancy, there is increasing evidence of the impact of alcohol on the developing central nervous system. This article explores the evidence regarding alcohol consumption and its effects on the developing fetal central nervous system.