Drinking alcohol while pregnant [1] has been a heated issue for some time now, but many are still not convinced about the effects it may have on unborn children. A new study testing lab rats has provided new information about how not just one generation, but up to three might suffer from consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.

The study — which tested if drinking while pregnant was correlated to a heightened risk of children developing alcoholism – was led by Nicole Cameron, assistant professor of psychology at Binghamton University.

"Our findings show that in the rat, when a mother consumes the equivalent of one glass of wine four times during the pregnancy, her offspring and grand-offspring, up to the third generation, show increased alcohol preference and less sensitivity to alcohol," Cameron reported [2]. "Thus, the offspring are more likely to develop alcoholism."

Previous studies have shown [3] that prenatal exposure to alcohol is a leading and preventable cause of birth defects and disabilities in first-generation children, but none so far have extended these effects to later generations.