Maternal Cocaine Use During Pregnancy: Effect on the Newborn Infant

TLDR

The study prospectively examined 56 mother–infant pairs to determine the effects of maternal cocaine use on newborn outcomes. A prospective cohort design was employed, enrolling 56 mothers who used cocaine and their newborns for systematic evaluation of perinatal outcomes. Cocaine exposure was associated with increased meconium‑stained fluid, but there were no differences in preeclampsia, cesarean rate, fetal distress, or Apgar scores, while infants exhibited growth retardation and microcephaly, with no increase in teratogenicity or distinguishable withdrawal symptoms.

Abstract

The newborn infants of 56 mothers who used cocaine were prospectively studied in to determine the effects of cocaine. There were no differences with respect to maternal preeclampsia or cesarean section rate. Meconium-stained amniotic fluid was increased (10 of 56 cases [17.8%]) compared with the control group (3 of 56 cases [5.3%]) (X2 = 4.2, P less than .05). Fetal distress recorded with fetal monitoring and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes were similar. The weight, length, and head circumference growth curves of the infants born to cocaine-using mothers were shifted below the 25th percentile. Microcephaly was present in 12 of 56 (21.4%) infants whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy (X2 = 5.96, P less than .01), and 15 of 56 (26.7%) had intrauterine growth retardation (X2 = 9.53, P less than .01) compared with the control infants (2 of 5 [3.5%] and 3 of 56 [5.3%], respectively). There was no increase in teratogenicity. Neither narcotic withdrawal symptoms nor illness could distinguish the infants born of cocaine-using mothers from the control infants. In conclusion, cocaine use during pregnancy results in newborn infants with growth retardation and microcephaly.