NCJ Number
162802
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 31 Issue: 8 Dated: (1996) Pages: 1063-1076
Date Published
1996
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study hypothesized that prenatal care would at least partially ameliorate adverse effects of drug use during pregnancy and that the association between prenatal care and an improved outcome in drug users would be independent of maternal race or drug use during pregnancy.
Abstract
In assessing neonatal effects of illicit drug use by mothers during pregnancy, data were obtained from medical records of 336 women who delivered at a university hospital in Galveston, Texas. These records provided information on urine drug screens, maternal histories, infant outcomes, and presence of prenatal care. Of 91 women testing positive for illicit drugs, 60 had obtained prenatal care. Findings associated marijuana use with increased risk of fetal distress; cocaine use with decreased birth weight, smaller head circumference, anemia, and meconium- stained amniotic fluid; and multiple drug use with decreased weight and meconium-stained fluid. Drug-using women who obtained prenatal care delivered infants of greater weight and with larger head circumference than drug-using women who obtained no prenatal care. Results confirm adverse effects of illicit drug use during pregnancy and demonstrate prenatal care can ameliorate some of these effects. 25 references and 4 tables