Drug misuse: conception into childhood☆

Abstract 

Drug use among pregnant women is becoming increasingly recognized in the UK. The children born to drug abusers are multiply disadvantaged. Polydrug use, which may be associated with alcohol and nicotine, increases the risk of pregnancy complications and may permanently harm the infant either directly or indirectly. Social deprivation, unstable caregivers, violence, malnutrition, infection and poor family support are as important predictors of poor outcome as the actual drugs taken. Antenatal and postnatal management should be multidisciplinary and non-judgemental.

Approximately, 50% of infants will show evidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome. This can be treated by either morphine or methadone for opiate withdrawal or phenobabitone for other drugs. Chlorpromazine can be helpful adjunctive therapy.

Children of drug-abusing parents consistently perform less well at school, have lower IQs and more behavioural problems than controls.

Keywords: heroin, cocaine, pregnancy, infant, neonatal withdrawal syndrome

No full text is available. To read the body of this article, please view the PDF online.