Maternal drug use during pregnancy: are preterm and full-term infants affected differently?
This study examined whether preterm infants are more vulnerable to the effects of prenatal drug exposure than are full-term infants. The sample of 235 low-income African American mothers and their infants included 119 cocaine-polydrug users, 19 alcohol-only users, and 97 nonusers; 148 infants were full term and 87 were preterm. Direct effects of exposure on birth weight, birth length, ponderal index, and irritability were moderated by length of gestation: Fetal growth deficits were more extreme in later-born infants, whereas increases in irritability were more extreme in earlier born infants. Effects of exposure on cardiorespiratory reactivity to a neonatal exam were not moderated by length of gestation. In general, effects of exposure occurred for both cocaine-polydrug and alcohol only users and so could not be unambiguously attributed to either of these drugs alone.
Brown
J V
JV
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta 30303-3083, USA. jvbrown@gsu.edu
Bakeman
R
R
Coles
C D
CD
Sexson
W R
WR
Demi
A S
AS
D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects; D003042:Cocaine / Q000009:adverse effects; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009357:Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
D000431:Ethanol; D003042:Cocaine