Prevalence of drug use among pregnant women in a rural area.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of alcohol and illegal drug use among pregnant women in a rural midwestern area.


METHODS
Descriptive, prospective study.


METHODS
Private tertiary medical center in a rural midwestern area.


METHODS
A nonprobability convenience sample of 202 women enrolling for prenatal care.


METHODS
Hypothesized that the prevalence of alcohol and illegal drug use by pregnant women in a rural midwestern area may be similar to the prevalence in urban areas.


RESULTS
The prevalence for perinatal drug use among the sample was 3.9%, with a 95% exact binomial confidence interval of 1.7% to 7.7%.


CONCLUSIONS
The 3.9% prevalence level is significantly lower than the 11% prevalence levels projected by urban studies (p = .0006). Additional studies need to be conducted on rural populations, however, with periodic testing performed throughout pregnancy. Further studies should examine, through self-reporting, prevalence rates of tobacco and alcohol use during pregnancy.
Matti
L K
LK
Mayo Foundation Hospitals, Rochester, MN.
Caspersen
V M
VM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000451:nursing / Q000652:urine; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000451:nursing / Q000652:urine; D011295:Prenatal Care; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012423:Rural Health; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000451:nursing / Q000652:urine