Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Europe, 1300-1700: A Review of Data on Alcohol Consumption and A Hypothesis

Abstract

This article attempts to integrate four separate bodies of knowledge. The first is modern medical understanding of the effects of alcohol on the unborn fetus, producing a condition known as fetal alcohol syndrome. One of the effects is a significant decrease in the weight of the fetus, leading to increased and significant perinatal mortality, that is, mortality during the last five months of pregnancy and the first month after birth. The second body of knowledge is the work of historical demographers that demonstrates a high level of infant mortality in pre-industrial Europe with one in four or even one in two children not surviving until the age of five. The third is the evidence that demonstrates women consumed large amounts of alcohol in pre-industrial Europe. Perhaps this drinking led to the development of fetal alcohol syndrome in the unborn, a development that could partially account for the high level of infant mortality. The fourth is contemporary beliefs about the effects of alcohol on the unborn; these beliefs demonstrate a recognition of the fetal alcohol syndrome long before the modern medical profession defined it.