Effects of Substance Abuse During Pregnancy on Maternal and Fetal Health
Sunil Gothwal, Neelam Singh, Kuldeep Meena, Pawan Sulaniya
Abstract
Substance abuse was predominantly a male phenomenon. Gradually, attention has shifted to substance abuse by women too. The common risk factors for substance abuse among women include a history of physical or sexual abuse, mental illness, family history of substance abuse, and exposure to drugs while attending college. Antenatal substance abuse is linked with several harmful maternal and fetal consequences. The most frequently abused substances by women during pregnancy are tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis. Polysubstance use in pregnancy is common.
Stillbirth, intrauterine growth restriction, malformation, dysmorphism, and neonatal abstinence syndrome are drug-related complications seen in neonates who are exposed to intrauterine substance abuse. Psychiatric comorbidities, environmental stress, and limited and disrupted care could lead to deleterious maternal and fetal outcomes.
Several screening tools are available for substance abuse, including the “parents, partner, past, and present” tool (4 Ps); the “tolerance, annoyed, cut-down, eye-opener” tool (T-ACE); and “tolerance, worry, eye-opener, amnesia, cut-down” tool (TWEAK).
Treatment includes initial therapy for achieving abstinence from the substance, and long-term management includes promoting health and preventing further consequences.
Associated depression and anxiety disorders should be treated to prevent future relapse. Behavioral therapy and medications are the mainstay for the treatment of addiction. Medications include methadone, buprenorphine, disulfiram, naltrexone, vivitrol, and acamprosate.
Please fill the form to download the PDF of this article:
(* Mandatory fields)