China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Substance Abuse during Pregnancy
Published in “Bert” Bertis Britt Little, Drugs and Pregnancy, 2022
Cocaine use is widespread among those of reproductive age. Cocaine use is not limited to Western society. It was detected in the urine of people from around the world, and among residents in areas as remote as the Arctic. The epidemic began in the mid to late 1970s, and the population of users expanded to include members every age, sex, ethnic, and socioeconomic sub-group. Approximately half of these users are women of reproductive age (GAO, 1990). Cocaine use is widely known to be dangerous during pregnancy, delaying intrauterine development and causing vascular disruption related birth defects (not a syndrome), fetal growth retardation/low birth weight, and transient withdrawal symptoms. Postnatal intellectual development may be adversely affected by prenatal cocaine exposure.
Drug abuse in pregnancy: Marijuana, LSD, cocaine, amphetamines, alcohol, and opiates
Published in Hung N. Winn, Frank A. Chervenak, Roberto Romero, Clinical Maternal-Fetal Medicine Online, 2021
Jacquelyn C. Howitt, Anita Bublik-Anderson
Perinatal effects associated with gestational cocaine use are fogged by confounding risk factors such as polysubstance abuse, malnutrition, and lifestyle. Associations include an increase in spontaneous abortions (25,26), preterm premature rupture of membranes (21,27), chorioamnionitis (21), meconium-stained amniotic fluid (20,21), and precipitous labor (21,28). The most commonly cited perinatal effects of prenatal cocaine exposure are prematurity, growth restriction, low birth weight, and placental abruption. Most of these effects are thought to be related to cocaine’s vasoconstrictive properties.
Critical Review of Evidence for Neonatal Cocaine Intoxication and Withdrawal
Published in Richard J. Konkol, George D. Olsen, Prenatal Cocaine Exposure, 2020
Delia A. Dempsey, Donna M. Ferriero, Sarah N. Jacobson
Abnormalities of cry and startle have been documented in cocaine-exposed neonates when compared to controls.8,14,15 One cry study found that the number of cry utterances and the number of short cries among newborns with a positive cocaine screen was twice that of newborns with a history of exposure but a negative screen.15 In another study, abnormal signs were found among those neonates with a positive urine screen but not among those with a history of exposure only.55 It was proposed that those with a positive screen were intoxicated, and those with a negative screen were not. Alternatively, the screen could be a marker of the magnitude of cocaine exposure. Newborns with a positive screen may be those with the most frequent exposure throughout gestation, while those whose exposure is known by history only may be the newborns whose mother stopped using, or used intermittently. The effects of prenatal cocaine exposure upon fetal growth have been shown to be correlated with the magnitude of cocaine exposure.62
Oscillatory Dynamics of Feedback Processing in Adolescents with Prenatal Cocaine Exposure
Published in Developmental Neuropsychology, 2019
Kristen P. Morie, Jia Wu, Nicole Landi, Marc N. Potenza, Linda C. Mayes, Michael J. Crowley
The strengths of this study include the fact that participants have been followed since birth and their PCE or NDE status is well documented. This study includes limitations. Many individuals were prenatally exposed to substances other than cocaine, including tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol, making it difficult to specify if findings relate to prenatal cocaine exposure specifically. Another limitation is the prevalence of substance initiation by subjects, especially those with PCE. The high percentage of substance-use initiation in our sample makes it difficult to determine if differences observed in feedback processing are a result of intrauterine exposure or are a result of substance use later in life or other factors. In addition, it would have been helpful to have more data about participants’ substance usage patterns, including how often or how much they use specific substances. To consider possible influences of initiation, we used substance-use-initiation data as covariates in our analyses. Another limitation is the limited information present on the environment faced in our sample. While both NDE and PCE individuals were from low-income backgrounds, having more information could help identify potential factors contributing to alterations in feedback processing. In addition, while there were no significant differences between groups in ethnicity, the groups were still somewhat skewed in ethnic distribution, which may have had subtle effects on our data.
Psychological Functioning of Women Taking Illicit Drugs during Pregnancy and the Growth and Development of Their Offspring in Early Childhood
Published in Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 2018
Dana Serino, MA, Bradley S. Peterson, MD, Tove S. Rosen, MD
Children in the cocaine group had lower cognitive and motor scores compared to other groups at one year, which was not observed at 18 to 24 months. This likely reflects a developmental delay, although research suggests that these children are at risk for cognitive problems in later development. For example, inattention, disinhibition, and memory problems have been described (Ackerman et al., 2010; Bennett, Bendersky, & Lewis, 2008; Savage et al., 2005), which correspond with the maturation of prefrontal areas (Shankaran et al., 2004). An alternative possibility is that this sample of children with prenatal cocaine exposure are at an advantage due to their seemingly resilient mothers. Mothers in the cocaine group appeared to be functioning well overall; rates of anxiety, depression, and stress were not significantly different from controls at follow-up. Comparatively, mothers in the methadone group shared multiple risk factors with mothers in the cocaine group (i.e., history of mental illness, incarceration, and abuse; low socioeconomic status; and severe prenatal polydrug use). Mothers receiving methadone maintenance reported significantly more stress prenatally and anxiety, depression, and stress in follow-up, which may have affected their children’s outcomes. Methadone group children had significantly lower cognitive scores at 18 to 24 months relative to other groups. Maternal stress has been known to adversely affect child cognitive development (Talge, Neal, & Glover, 2007), and these data suggest that stress may compound the effects of prenatal drug exposure in a sample of children exposed to methadone with and without illicit substances.
Cumulative Risk, Protection, and Early Intervention: Neurodevelopment in Sibling Groups Exposed Prenatally to Substances
Published in Developmental Neuropsychology, 2021
Bianca C. Bondi, Debra J. Pepler, Mary Motz, Naomi C.Z. Andrews
Research on prenatal substance exposure has revealed risk factors across perinatal domains (e.g., factors related to the mother, secondary parent, family, pregnancy, birth, child, parent-child interactions) that exacerbate the adverse effects of prenatal substance exposure on neurodevelopment. For instance, the effects of prenatal marijuana exposure on neurodevelopment are heightened with maternal age (Williams & Ross, 2007). The neurodevelopmental risks associated with prenatal alcohol exposure are heightened with increased maternal age, a history of alcohol use, high-level maternal binge drinking prenatally (Williams & Ross, 2007), and minimal cognitive stimulation for the child (Bailey et al., 2004; Jacobson, Jacobson, Sokol, Chiodo, & Corobana, 2004). Maternal intelligence and quality of care in the home are determinants of neurodevelopment in children exposed prenatally to cocaine (Singer, 2002; Singer et al., 1997, 2001, 2004). Relative to controls, children with prenatal cocaine exposure are more likely to be victims of emotional and physical neglect, have minimal contact with their biological fathers, have fewer toys, have less adequate housing, and live in chaotic home environments; mothers consuming cocaine prenatally are more likely to be depressed, have fewer recourses, lack social support, spend less time with their children, and make frequent moves (Nulman et al., 2001). Cocaine and opiate exposure are thought to have little effect in utero, with their effects on neurodevelopment most likely mediated through maternal psychosocial functioning, outlining the need to consider the exacerbating role of perinatal environmental risks (Lester et al., 2002; Williams & Ross, 2007). Prenatal tobacco exposure relates to the quality of the early caregiving environment, including maternal mental state, attitudes, personality, socioeconomic status, and education level (Wakschlag & Hans, 2002). In a review of cumulative risk and child development, Evans, Li, and Whipple (2013) discussed the need to combine multiple risk factors into domains. Most children exposed to a single risk factor suffer minimal enduring consequences (Evans et al., 2013; Rutter, 1981). In contrast, children exposed to multiple risk factors are at high risk for poor neurodevelopmental outcomes and psychological disorders (Kessler, Davis, & Kendler, 1997; Kessler et al., 2010; Rutter, 1979, 1981; Sameroff, 2006), emphasizing the importance of considering cumulative rather than individual risks. Further, risk exposure across multiple domains presents more challenging adaptive demands on children relative to intense but concentrated risk exposure within a single domain (Ackerman et al., 1999; Brennan, Hall, Bor, Najman, & Williams, 2003; Evans et al., 2013; Whipple, Evans, Barry, & Maxwell, 2010), emphasizing the importance of considering cumulative risks across domains.