Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and fetal startle behaviour.

The startle behaviour of the fetus (both spontaneous and elicited) was examined in fetuses of mothers who drank alcohol and mothers who did not. Fetuses exposed to alcohol showed a higher frequency of spontaneous startles and were less likely to exhibit a normal startle in response to a vibroacoustic stimulus. These differences illustrate a teratogenic effect of alcohol on CNS functioning in utero, possibly associated with brainstem damage.