Pre-pregnancy alcohol experience attenuates typical decrease in gestational alcohol consumption in mice

Abstract

The influence of pre-pregnancy alcohol consumption on alcohol self-selection during pregnancy and lactation was examined in C57BL mice. One group of animals was given a two-bottle choice between water and a 10% w/v ethanol solution for three weeks prior to breeding, throughout pregnancy, and during lactation, while a second group was given the alcohol-water choice beginning on the first day of pregnancy. Relative alcohol intake (g ethanol/kg body weight) as well as alcohol “preference” decreased below pre-pregnancy levels during both pregnancy and lactation. That is, voluntary alcohol consumption was attenuated in pregnant and lactating mice, regardless of strain-typical pre-pregnancy high consumption. However, mice given a choice between alcohol and water prior to pregnancy did not decrease their alcohol consumption during pregnancy as much as mice not given the pre-pregnancy alcohol choice. There was no correlation between pre-pregnancy alcohol consumption and subsequent intake. The mechanism underlying decreased voluntary alcohol consumption during pregnancy remains to be elucidated, but it is clear that prior experience with alcohol influences the phenomenon.