Developmental outcomes of infants of drug‐dependent mothers (IDDM) who used heroin during pregnancy, alone or in combination with methadone, were unfavorable compared with outcomes of infants of mothers who were not drug dependent or infants in the general population. Unfavorable items for IDDM were: gestational age and birth weight, physical growth, neurological development, intelligence, behavior, social competences and social state (foster care). Prenatal care with social support and methadone substitution were critical factors for IDDM. The IDDM in foster care appeared to exhibit even more unfavorable outcomes than those living with their biological parents.

SUMMARY Neurobehavioural development of 35 infants of drug dependent mothers was compared with the development of 37 reference infants as part of a prospective longitudinal research project. Infants of drug dependent mothers had more poor responses than the other children on neurological examination. This difference is significant only when data of infants of drug dependent mothers born at full term are analysed. Two tailed testing indicated that significantly more infants of drug dependent mothers than reference children had electroencephalograms rated as suspect or abnormal. By the end of the first month the infants of drug dependent mothers tended to be more active, and they had worse scores than the reference children on the neonatal behavioural assessment scale. Analysing data only of infants born at full term, the groups differ significantly on the interactive items. The results of this study show that even after treatment for the neonatal abstinence syndrome, infants of drug dependent mothers seem to differ from comparison children, which could indicate later developmental problems.

No abstract

No abstract