Research Group Researchers at Children and Environment of the Municipal Institute of Medical Research (IMIM), Hospital del Mar in Barcelona have used a new technique to estimate the real prevalence of drug use during pregnancy.
The project, whose results are published in the journal Annals of Pediatrics 'this month', used the first stool of newborns to determine whether the mother used drugs during the last two trimesters of pregnancy.
far been used urine samples to determine drug use, despite the method to be reliable, only reflect exposure or consumption during last four days before the test.
The objective of this project is to assess the prevalence of drug use by pregnant women and the effects Chronic exposure to drugs in the fetus and the newborn by analysis of the first stool of the baby, maternal structured interview and clinical observation of the newborn - weight, height, head circumference, ponderal index, brain-body ratio other clinical signs -.
According to Oscar Garcia, lead author of the article: "The meconium - first stool - begins to form between 12 and 16 weeks of pregnancy and stores the information until the moment of birth."
"If we add to their collection is not invasive for the mother or baby, the meconium is revealed as a very good organic matter to make an assessment careful fetal exposure to drugs of abuse and to identify risk infants may require treatment or follow-up, "Garcia said.
The study sample was of 1,209 mother-infant pairs who were treated during the period October 2002-February 2004. The analysis of meconium tested positive for drug abuse during pregnancy in 10.9% of the total study population, with 5.3% positive for cannabis, 4.7% positive for heroin and 2.6% for cocaine, while 1.5% were positive for consumption of different drugs at once.
The fact that the study compares the analysis of meconium in the maternal interview, confirmed the well-known underreporting snuff consumption during pregnancy and the reporting of drug use by pregnant women. In fact, only 1.3% reported having used cannabis, 0.3% and 1.2% heroin cocaine.
The level of exposure of infants to drugs was associated with size and weight at birth significantly lower in conjunction with a brain-body ratio increased in infants exposed to cocaine alone or more than one drug simultaneously. The study also shows a greater number of previous abortions in women consuming.
The results reveal a strong association between snuff consumption and consumption of cocaine and polydrug use. Demographic analysis conducted shows that drug abuse during pregnancy is not associated with a particular ethnic or working class in the population studied.
This study demonstrated the existence of a hidden and significant consumption of drugs during pregnancy, with the consequent impact on the proper neurodevelopment of fetuses who are exposed and allowed to obtain information on prevalence of drug use. Via
Europapress
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