Women who drink three or more glasses of alcohol regularly during the pregnancy period are more likely to give birth to children with alcohol disorders, according to a new study published in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry journal. Scientists at The University of Queensland, Herston, Australia, who conducted the study, found that children of mothers who have consumed alcoholic drinks during pregnancy are at a high risk of developing alcohol addiction before they turn 21.

Previous studies have also showed that parents' bad habits, such as drinking alcohol, smoking, consuming hallucinogenic substances etc. can easily be transmitted to their offsprings; and therefore, bad habits may be considered to run in the family. Other studies proved that individuals who have been exposed during early infancy to alcohol by their mothers are likely to develop mental and behavioral disorders.

However, experts involved in the current study pointed out the fact that there are rather a few studies which dealt with the alcohol consumption during pregnancy and not after the baby was already born. On the other hand, many studies carried out on animals showed that exposure to maternal drinking while still in the embryo led children to an early acceptance of alcoholic drinks.

"First, such studies would suggest that even small quantities of alcohol exposure, if consumed in a single session, may cause in utero neurodevelopmental changes that in turn may lead to the early onset of alcohol disorder in youth. Second, they would provide support for the role of a biological origin of alcohol disorders," wrote Rosa Alati, Ph.D., leader of the research, and her colleagues in the report.

The study was conducted on more than 2,100 participants who have been monitored since birth to the age of 21. Results showed that in utero alcohol exposure has side effects on the baby's health and can cause him/her to become alcohol addicted. "Our findings support a biological contribution to the origin of alcohol disorders and suggest that greater attention should be given to the role of the programming effect of in utero alcohol exposure to the development of alcohol disorders in adulthood," concluded the University of Queensland team.