I have written this book because I felt there was a need to bring together in one place the vast amount of research that has been published in the past 10 years concerning alcohol's effects on the conceptus. My hope is that this book will be of value to the many clinicians, basic research scientists, social workers, and others who are interested in this important issue. The number of such publications continues to grow each year, and it was a very difficult task to review even a proportion of them completely. While I have cited many of these research studies, only those that in my very subjective opinion warranted extended coverage were discussed. In this regard, much of my . ask was facilitated by the many excellent reviews that have already been written. To those whose important contributions have not been discussed or cited, I offer my sincere apologies. Omission of these publications in most cases reflects my own personal interests or awareness, rather than merit.