JOHANNESBURG - It's long been known that foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is largely a result of mothers consuming alcohol during pregnancy.
Now new research by Stellenbosch University takes that further. The research revealed that fathers’ drinking habits may also play a small but direct role in children’s development.
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According to the study, children whose fathers drank alcohol were more likely to be shorter, have smaller heads, and perform worse on verbal IQ tests.
The risk was highest when both parents drank, particularly in cases of binge drinking.
The study further revealed that between 66% and 77% of fathers of children on the FAS spectrum drank during their partner's pregnancy, averaging 12 drinks a day.
“The number of drinks consumed was significantly correlated with smaller head circumference—a key indicator of brain development,” the researchers said.
Dr Marlene de Vries from Stellenbosch University’s Department of Psychiatry told eNCA that a father’s drinking habits have an impact both before pregnancy and during pregnancy.
“When we consider [fathers’] drinking habits prior to the pregnancy it is a known fact that heavy drinking fathers may contribute to more still births as well as miscarriage. This study now shows that fathers can also have a genetic contribution to the development of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This means there is some or other mechanism of maybe altered sperm or poor quality sperm that affects development of the foetus,” she said.