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Prenatal exposure to methamphetamine restricts infant growth
Drug AbuseApril 10, 2003
2003 APR 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Prenatal exposure to methamphetamine restricts infant growth.
"To determine fetal growth and the incidence of withdrawal symptoms in term infants exposed to methamphetamine in utero, we retrospectively identified neonates whose mothers used methamphetamine during pregnancy and matched them to unexposed newborns. Exclusion criteria included multiple and pre-term gestations," stated L. Smith and colleagues, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Martin Research Center.
"Although there were no differences in infant growth parameters between the methamphetamine-exposed and methamphetamine-unexposed neonates, methamphetamine exposure throughout gestation was associated with decreased growth relative to infants exposed only for the first two trimesters," study authors reported.
"In addition, there were significantly more small for gestational age infants in the methamphetamine group compared with the unexposed group. Methamphetamine-exposed infants whose mothers smoked had significantly decreased growth relative to infants exposed to methamphetamine alone," they noted.
"Withdrawal symptoms (as determined by a previously reported scoring system) requiring pharmacologic intervention were observed in 4% of methamphetamine-exposed infants. These preliminary findings indicate that methamphetamine use is associated with growth restriction in infants born at term," Smith and coauthors advised.
Smith and colleagues published their study in Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (Effects of prenatal methamphetamine exposure on fetal growth and drug withdrawal symptoms in infants born at term. J Develop Behav Pediat, 2003;24(1):17-23).
The contact person for this report is L. Smith, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Martin Research Center, Department Pediatrics, 1124 W Carson St., Torrance, CA 90502, USA.
To subscribe to the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, contact the publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 530 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106-3621, USA.
The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics and Drug Abuse. This article was prepared by Women's Health Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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