Pregnancy Outcomes in Methamphetamine Abuse Mothers

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the outcomes of pregnancy in methamphetamine abuse mothers. The history of methamphetamine abuse, other abused drugs and some abuse behaviors of mothers were also studied.

Methods: Cross sectional analytical study of 182 mothers with a history of methamphetamine abuse during pregnancy and the outcomes were reviewed. Data was collected from in-patient files of Siriraj Hospital between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2003. Those mothers who miscarried were excluded from the study. Characteristics of the patients, antenatal care records, histories of methamphetamine abuse, modes and outcomes of delivery such as preterm labor, birth weight, Apgar score, length and head circumferences were recorded. Subsequent analysis of 50 teenage mothers and 100 mothers over 20 years were compared. Data was analyzed and descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and unpaired t-test were used where appropriate.

Results: Of all 182 mothers, 65.9% did not attend ANC and 43% were nulliparous. Percentages of preterm and low birth weight were 6.6% and 24.2% respectively. Sexually transmitted diseases were quite prevalent. There was a high positive antiHIV rate of 6.6% in this group. Neonatal asphyxia (Apgar < 7) at 1 min was found in 4.9% of the infants. The average birth weight, head circumference and fetal length were 2813.5 ± 456.3 gm., 32.0 ± 2.1cm. and 48.4 ± 2.7 cm. respectively. Most of the mothers abused methamphetamine less than one year with a dose of 1 tab per day. Multiple substance abuse was noticed. 47.9% of the patients smoked cigarettes and 12.7% consumed alcohol during pregnancy. Maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes were not different when subsequent analysis was performed to compare between 50 teenage mothers and 100 mothers over 20 years of age.

Conclusion: The results showed some adverse outcomes of pregnancy from mothers with methamphetamine abuse. Poor ANC, high positive anti-HIV rates, high percentage of low birth weights and smaller head circumferences of the newborns were observed in this study. The prevalence of preterm was low without clear explanation. The age of the mothers had no additional role on these adverse outcomes although there was a trend of higher low birth weight and preterm among teenage mothers.