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Maternal alcohol consumption in pregnancy enhances arterial stiffness and alters vasodilator function that varies between vascular beds in fetal sheep

To date, the effects of maternal alcohol consumption in pregnancy have focused on neurodevelopmental outcomes, with the impact on the arterial system poorly understood. In this study we investigated the effects of moderate maternal alcohol consumption (∼3 standard drinks per day) in late pregnancy on the ability of arteries in the fetus to relax, and hence deliver blood, and on arterial stiffness in five important organs. Maternal alcohol consumption in late pregnancy resulted in a marked increase in stiffness in arteries of the heart, kidney, gut, leg muscle and brain in the fetus, and this could slow contraction and relaxation and overall blood delivery. Coronary artery endothelial vasodilator function was severely blunted as a result of alcohol exposure, while in contrast endothelium‐dependent relaxation in renal and mesenteric arteries was enhanced. Together, the results of this study provide a warning for pregnant women and their carers that maternal consumption of ∼3 standard drinks per day, levels that do not evoke physical abnormalities or growth restriction, can dramatically alter arterial function in the fetus.