Kurita H, Motoki N, Inaba Y, et al. - As the link between fetal exposure to alcohol and congenital structural disorders remains inconclusive, researchers conducted this large-scale Japanese cohort study to explore the connections between maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the risk of congenital malformations. A total of 73,595 mothers with singleton births and complete data acquisition were used for analysis. Data reported that the prevalence of maternal drinking was 46.6% and 2.8% in early pregnancy and until the second/third trimester. The onset of congenital heart defect was inversely linked to mothers who quit drinking during early pregnancy. Consumption of maternal alcohol during pregnancy, even in early pregnancy, did not have a major adverse effect on congenital malformations of concern.