Table 2.

Biological Samples for Measuring Biomarkers Indicating Maternal Alcohol Consumption

Biological Sample	Advantages	Disadvantages
Maternal Sample
Urine	Large sample size	Requires cooperation; tampering possible
Hair	May indicate timing of exposure	Requires cooperation; may not be desirable; requires special analytical techniques
Blood	Battery of biomarkers may be used	Invasive; painful
Breath	Easy to obtain large quantities	Requires special equipment; technology is limited; requires cooperation
Saliva	Easy to obtain	Requires cooperation; small sample size
Transdermal	Easy to obtain	Requires special equipment; technology is limited; requires cooperation
Newborn Sample*
Cord blood	Large sample size; battery of biomarkers may be used	Narrow window of opportunity to collect; single time point for measurement
Placenta	Large sample size	Narrow window of opportunity to collect
Umbilical cord	Large sample size	Narrow window of opportunity to collect
Amniotic fluid	Large sample size	Difficult to collect; narrow window of opportunity to collect
Urine	Concentrates metabolites	Difficult to collect
Hair	May indicate timing of exposure	May not be available; may not be acceptable to parent
Breath	Easy to obtain	Requires special equipment; technology is limited
Saliva	Easy to obtain	Small sample size
Transdermal	Easy to obtain	Requires special equipment; technology is limited
Meconium	Easy to obtain; may indicate timing of exposure	None

^*Biomarkers measured in newborn samples only indicate maternal drinking retrospectively.