Prenatal drug exposure and maternal and infant feeding behaviour.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate feeding difficulties and maternal behaviour during a feeding session with 1 month old infants prenatally exposed to cocaine and/or opiates. METHODS: The study is part of the maternal lifestyle study, which recruited 11 811 subjects at four urban hospitals, then followed 1388 from 1 to 36 months of age. Exposure to cocaine and opiates was determined by maternal interview and meconium assay. At the 1 month clinic visit, biological mothers were videotaped while bottle feeding their infants. This sample included 364 exposed to cocaine, 45 exposed to opiates, 31 exposed to both drugs, and 588 matched comparison infants. Mothers were mostly black, high school educated, and on public assistance. Videotapes were coded without knowledge of exposure status for frequency, duration and quality of infant sucking, arousal, feeding problems, and maternal feeding activity and interaction. RESULTS: No cocaine effects were found on infant feeding measures, but cocaine-using mothers were less flexible (6.29 v 6.50), less engaged (5.77 v 6.22), and had shorter feeding sessions (638 v 683 seconds). Opiate exposed infants showed prolonged sucking bursts (29 v 20 seconds), fewer pauses (1.6 v 2.2 per minute), more feeding problems (0.55 v 0.38), and increased arousal (2.59 v 2.39). Their mothers showed increased activity (30 v 22), independent of their infants' feeding problems. CONCLUSIONS: Previous concerns about feeding behaviour in cocaine exposed infants may reflect the quality of the feeding interaction rather than infant feeding problems related to prenatal exposure. However, opiate exposed infants and their mothers both contributed to increased arousal and heightened feeding behaviour.

Central and autonomic system signs with in utero drug exposure.

AIMS: To determine risk for central nervous system/autonomic nervous system (CNS/ANS) signs following in utero cocaine and opiate exposure. METHODS: A multisite study was designed to determine outcomes of in utero cocaine and opiate exposure. A total of 11 811 maternal/infant dyads were enrolled. Drug exposed (EXP) infants were identified by maternal self report of cocaine or opiate use or by meconium testing. Of 1185 EXP, meconium analysis confirmed exposure in 717 to cocaine (CO) only, 100 to opiates (OP), and 92 to opiates plus cocaine (OP+CO); 276 had insufficient or no meconium to confirm maternal self report. Negative exposure history was confirmed in 7442 by meconium analysis and unconfirmed in 3184. Examiners masked to exposure status, assessed each enrolled infant. Using generalised estimating equations, adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated for manifesting a constellation of CNS/ANS outcomes and for each sign associated with cocaine and opiate exposure. RESULTS: Prevalence of CNS/ANS signs was low in CO, and highest in OP+CO. Signs were significantly related to one another. After controlling for confounders, CO was associated with increased risk of manifesting a constellation of CNS/ANS outcomes, OR (95% CI): 1.7 (1.2 to 2.2), independent of OP effect, OR (95% CI): 2.8 (2.1 to 3.7). OP+CO had additive effects, OR (95% CI): 4.8 (2.9 to 7.9). Smoking also increased the risk for the constellation of CNS/ANS signs, OR (95% CI) of 1.3 (1.04 to 1.55) and 1.4 (1.2 to 1.6), respectively, for use of less than half a pack per day and half a pack per day or more. CONCLUSION: Cocaine or opiate exposure increases the risk for manifesting a constellation of CNS/ANS outcomes.

The Maternal Lifestyle Study: drug use by meconium toxicology and maternal self-report.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe drug use by pregnant women participating in the 4-site Maternal Lifestyle Study of in utero cocaine and/or opiate exposure. METHODS: Meconium specimens of 8527 newborns were analyzed by immunoassay with GC/MS confirmation for metabolites of cocaine, opiates, cannabinoids, amphetamines, and phencyclidine. Maternal self-report of drug use was determined by hospital interview. RESULTS: The prevalence of cocaine/opiate exposure in the 4 sites was 10.7% with the majority (9.5%) exposed to cocaine based on the combination of meconium analysis and maternal self-report. However, exposure status varied by site and was higher in low birth weight infants (18.6% for very low birth weight and 21.1% for low birth weight). Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) confirmation of presumptive positive cocaine screens was 75.5%. In the cocaine/opiate-exposed group, 38% were cases in which the mother denied use but the meconium was positive. There was 66% agreement between positive meconium results and positive maternal report. Only 2% of mothers reported that they used only cocaine during pregnancy and mothers were 49 times more likely to use another drug if they used cocaine. CONCLUSION: Accurate identification of prenatal drug exposure is improved with GC/MS confirmation and when the meconium assay is coupled with a maternal hospital interview. However, the use of GC/MS may have different implications for research than for public policy. We caution against the use of quantitative analysis of drugs in meconium to estimate the degree of exposure. Our study also highlights the polydrug nature of what used to be thought of as a cocaine problem.

Central and autonomic nervous systems' signs associated with in utero exposure to cocaine/opiates.

In summary, we found that the prevalence of CNS/ANS signs was significantly higher in the infants exposed to cocaine and/or opiates than in nonexposed infants. However, the prevalence of a large number of these signs was less than 5%. The prevalence rates of these signs are lower when exposure involved cocaine only; thus, their assessment has limited clinical utility.

The evolution of the Women's Health Initiative: perspectives from the NIH.

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) addresses some of the major health concerns of postmenopausal women. It is designed to test whether long-term preventive measures will decrease the incidence of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and fractures, and it seeks to find better predictors of future health and disease in older women. This report traces the evolution of the clinical trial and observational study (CT/OS) components of WHI from early planning in the 1980s to the current status of the WHI CT/OS as an integrated, ongoing clinical study. Particular attention is directed to the antecedent planning meetings and feasibility studies that formed the underpinnings of the WHI. The issues of hormone replacement therapy and of the optimal diet for postmenopausal women were investigated for almost a decade prior to WHI. However, no studies of sufficient size and duration to confidently test the value and risks of these approaches were initiated because of the cost and insufficient political commitment. The initiation of WHI in 1991 represents the confluence of scientific need and capability with the social priorities to improve the health and welfare of women.

Impediments to comprehensive treatment models for substance-dependent women: treatment and research questions.

A number of factors need to be addressed in order to provide efficacious treatment for drug-dependent women, particularly those who are opioid dependent. If left unaddressed, these factors may reduce the effectiveness of treatment. In addition, evaluation research frequently overlooks the impact of these factors in methodological approaches examining treatment outcomes. This article discusses several of the problems brought to treatment settings by women, considers how these problems impact on current treatment models, examines alternative research approaches to evaluating treatment for women, and focuses on three critical factors regularly overlooked in treatment provision and in research related to women: (1) broader issues of dependency in women; (2) the impact of chaotic early interpersonal relationships on developmental levels; and (3) diagnostic criteria and treatment goals appropriate for women. It attempts to provide an understanding of the impact of these three elements on treatment and on research methodologies in order to provide and evaluate comprehensive and effective treatment for drug-dependent women.

Perinatal morbidity and mortality in substance using families: effects and intervention strategies.

The epidemic of drug abuse has overwhelmed men, women and children and caused incalculable damage to an honoured structure in human civilization--the family. Moreover, during the past decade, increasing numbers of pregnant drug-dependent women have been presenting themselves to medical facilities, some to receive ongoing prenatal care, but others only to deliver their babies without the benefit of any medical services. The present chapter reviews the current literature, as well as the experiences of the author, with regard to the sociomedical characteristics of pregnant, drug-dependent women. The effects of substances of abuse on pregnancy, the foetus and the newborn with respect to morbidity and mortality are presented. Recommendations for management of both the pregnant drug-dependent women and her child, on the basis of clinical research, are also outlined. Although overall medical advances have escalated during the past three decades, there is still much to learn with regard to the effects of drugs of abuse upon families. Moreover, methods of prevention and treatment still need considerable study. By re-evaluating the areas of strength and weakness in the body of available knowledge, future research will be able to enhance the ability to help those unfortunate families that are effected by substance abuse.

Electroencephalographic and behavioral-state studies in infants of cocaine-addicted mothers.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate cerebral cortical function with electroencephalography in infants of cocaine-addicted mothers. DESIGN: Patient series. SETTING: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Pa). PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-five consecutive infants of cocaine-addicted mothers hospitalized for a comprehensive health assessment and 51 healthy, age-matched infants studied with electroencephalography and respiratory thermistor because they were siblings of sudden infant death victims (comparison group). INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS/MAIN RESULTS: Behavioral states during spontaneous daytime sleep were classified as active sleep or quiet sleep; quiet sleep was further characterized as immature, tracé alternant sleep or mature, continuous, slow wave sleep. No episodes of ictal apnea or nonictal apnea were recorded in infants of cocaine-addicted mothers; nonictal apnea was observed in one control patient. No electrographic seizures were recorded. There were no significant differences between the proportions of infants exposed to cocaine in utero and that of controls who displayed excessive sharp electroencephalographic transients, background abnormalities, immaturity, and hypermaturity. Electroclinical sleep discordance was present in 5.7% of infants of cocaine-addicted mothers vs 0% of controls. Cocaine-exposed infants displayed mature, continuous, slow wave sleep below 45 weeks of conceptional age in a significantly higher percentage than those in the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS: Although frank electroencephalographic abnormalities were infrequent in infants whose mothers were addicted to cocaine, they differed significantly in their younger age of onset of continuous, slow wave sleep. Our findings provide continued reason for concern that infants of cocaine-addicted mothers may suffer subtle adverse neurologic, cognitive, or behavioral effects later in life. The longitudinal assessment of sleep disturbance and its relation to later development might permit tracking of the long-term effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine.

Treatment issues for opioid-dependent women during the perinatal period.

Opioid dependence has been studied with regard to its effects on the woman, the fetus, and the child for the past three decades, and it continues to be a serious problem that must be recognized and addressed by the health care delivery system in order to provide optimal medical care. The use of pharmacotherapy, such as methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), is only one of a variety of treatment modalities to provide optimal services for opioid-dependent women. The complete schema for treating opioid dependence in the perinatal period is complex and intense, but MMT serves multiple purposes. Primarily, it removes the addicted woman from the drug-seeking environment, eliminates the necessary illicit behavior, and prevents the peaks and valleys in the maternal heroin level that may occur throughout the day. In addition, maternal nutrition is usually improved and MMT patients become amenable to prenatal care and psychosocial rehabilitation. It is evident from the findings of numerous studies that when the physical, psychological, and socioeconomic issues of pregnant opioid-dependent women and their children are coupled with MMT, the potential physical and behavioral effects of psychoactive drugs on the mother, the fetus, the newborn, and the child may be markedly reduced.

Prenatal narcotic exposure: perinatal and developmental effects.

Infants prenatally exposed to narcotics become passively addicted in-utero and may undergo neonatal abstinence at birth. Methadone maintenance in conjunction with intensive prenatal care for pregnant narcotic dependent women can reduce the incidence of intrauterine death, neonatal death, prematurity and its concomitant problems. However, methadone exposed infants have consistently been found to have smaller birthweights and head circumference than non-drug exposed infants. Although neonatal abstinence can be treated successfully with pharmacotherapy, the effects of in-utero narcotic exposure in the developing central nervous system are not fully understood. Infants exposed to narcotics in-utero have been found to have slit-like ventricles with smaller lateral ventricle and intracranial hemidiameter measurements during the first month of life. The incidence of strabismus is also greater in infants exposed to narcotics in-utero than the general population, but this appears to be related to lower birth weight, rather than a direct consequence of narcotic exposure. There does not appear to be developmental sequelae associated with prenatal narcotic exposure. After abstinence has abated, infants function well within the normal range of development during the first two years of life, although developmental scores may be lower than non-drug exposed comparisons groups. There are a myriad of confounding medical, pharmacological and environmental variables within this population and the relative importance of prenatal narcotic exposure in a continuum of risk factors needs to be more clearly delineated before the etiology of perinatal and developmental effects can be determined.