NCJ Number
158916
Journal
Obstetrics and Gynecology Volume: 78 Issue: 5 Dated: (November 1991) Pages: 731-734
Date Published
1991
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The mother's and infant's hospital costs associated with maternal cocaine abuse were analyzed using data on 91 mother-infant pairs testing positive for cocaine at delivery and a screened drug-free control population matched for socioeconomic status, age, and parity.
Abstract
Results revealed that the cocaine-positive mothers were more likely than the others to delivery prematurely (37 percent versus 2 percent) and to have infants with low birth weights (2,613 g versus 3,340 g) or who were growth-retarded (12 percent versus 0 percent). Eight percent of the babies of cocaine-positive mothers and 1 percent of the other babies had Apgar scores of less than 7 at 5 minutes. Sixty- three percent of the babies of cocaine-positive mothers had signs of cocaine exposure, and 30 percent used neonatal intensive care, compared to 0 percent and 3 percent of the others, respectively. The average hospitalization was 11 days for the babies of cocaine-exposed mothers and 3 days for the others. The mothers' hospital charges averaged $3,608 for the cocaine-positive mothers and $3,147 for the others; neonatal charges averaged $13,222 for the cocaine- positive group and $1,297 for the others. Most of the statistically significant differences in perinatal cost between the two groups could be traced to the association between cocaine abuse and premature birth. Tables and 21 references (Author abstract modified)