No amount of alcohol during pregnancy may be safe for fetus.

USA Today /HealthDay (1/18, Salamon) reports, "A new study pinpoints the latter half of the first trimester as a critical time in the development of" signs of fetal alcohol syndrome, "such as a smooth ridge between the nose and upper lip, small head size, unusually small-set eyes and shorter-than-average height." In addition, researchers "stressed that their research illustrates there is no safe amount of drinking during pregnancy, since the amount of drinking that produced these features in infants varied from woman to woman." The study was published online Jan. 17 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

        The Los Angeles Times (1/18, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog reports, "While the most significant link to damage was found in weeks seven through 12 of pregnancy...the study also found specific abnormalities linked to drinking in the second trimester. In the third trimester, only birth length was linked to drinking patterns." MedPage Today (1/18, Ullman) also covers the study.