Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Risk Linked To Dad's Alcohol Consumption, Study Finds

It is common knowledge that pregnant women who drink alcohol are putting their baby at risk of developing fetal alcohol syndrome. A new study finds that the father's drinking habits can also increase fetal alcohol syndrome risk.

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The new study -- published in the American Journal of Stem Cells -- shows that excessive alcohol intake for a long period of time can lead to some changes in the DNA of a man's sperm cells. A woman who conceives a baby from an alcoholic male's sperm can then lead to fetal health disorders such as fetal alcohol syndrome.

"Up to 75 percent of children with FASD have biological fathers who are alcoholics, suggesting that pre-conceptual paternal alcohol consumption negatively impacts their offspring," research author Dr. Joanna Kitlinska stated via Medical Daily. Fetal alcohol syndrome causes birth defects and learning disabilities in children.

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The research suggests that babies who have alcoholic fathers are also more likely to have a lower birth weight, a smaller brain size and cognitive difficulties. For these reasons, a man who is planning to get his partner pregnant should avoid drinking alcohol in order to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome and other harmful health conditions that could arise.

This new study backs up past studies regarding fetal alcohol syndrome. In 2014, researchers found the link between fetal alcohol syndrome and alcoholic fathers by exposing one group of male mice to alcohol and the other group to a saline solution only. "A number of fetuses sired by males exposed to alcohol suffered abnormal organ development and or brain development," Science Daily explains.