Infant Size at 8 Months of Age: Relationship to Maternal Use of Alcohol, Nicotine, and Caffeine During Pregnancy

Abstract

To examine the relationship of maternal alcohol consumption, caffeine use and smoking to infant size at 8 mo. of age, a follow-up cohort of 453 infants was examined at birth and again at their 8-mo. birthday. Even after adjustment for other relevant variables, maternal alcohol use during early pregnancy (average ounces of absolute alcohol by self-report) was significantly related to infant weight and length at 8 mo. of age but not as strongly related to head circumference. Maternal smoking and caffeine use during pregnancy were not significantly related to infant size at 8 mo., although nicotine use had been highly related to the birth size in this sample. Maternal use of marijuana was significantly and negatively related to infant length at 8 mo. of age, but not to weight or head circumference. The magnitude of the growth retardation is smaller at 8 mo. than at birth in this sample of infants whose mothers are primarily white, married and well-educated, and who report a variety of alcohol use patterns. Significance was tested using multiple regression analyses that adjusted for the effects of nicotine use, caffeine use, birth order, maternal height and gestational age as well as sex and age of infant at examination.