New guidelines on diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have been released by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The new guidelines clarify and expand recommendations made in 2005.

FASD can result when a mother drinks during pregnancy. The updated guidelines are based on an analysis of 10,000 people involved in studies of prenatal alcohol exposure.

“These new guidelines will be a valuable resource for clinicians to accurately diagnose infants and children who were affected by alcohol exposure before birth,” said NIAAA Director George F. Koob, PhD. “They represent the most data-driven diagnostic criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder produced to date.”