Home Intervention for In Utero Drug‐Exposed Infants

Abstract

Each year in the United States, around 5.5% (or 230,000) infants are born to mothers who used illicit drugs during pregnancy. The untoward effects of in utero drug exposure (IUDE) include significant decreases in birthweight and length and head circumference, prematurity, and developmental problems. Intensive early intervention, including home-based interventions, is recognized as an effective method to improve cognitive development and reduce health problems in these high risk infants and children. Examination of home visit records of 20 IUDE infants during their first year of life revealed frequent health and social problems. Infectious disease symptoms were the most frequent problem encountered in the home during the physical assessment of the infants. Of note was the mothers' lack of basic parenting information (understanding signs of illness, basic nutrition, and infant development) which was then provided by the nurse during each home visit. Of concern was the lack of drug treatment sought by these mothers. Findings support the view that home visiting should be incorporated into the discharge planning of any IUDE infant in order to maintain these infants in the health care system and monitor their safety.

The impact of continuing illegal drug use on teenage pregnancy outcomes—a prospective cohort study

“…An association between drug use in pregnancy and head circumference has been previously reported 18–20 . A review of 230,000 in utero drug‐exposed newborns born in the United States documented a reduction in head circumference as a key outcome 18 . A case–control study of drug‐addicted newborns compared with matched controls quantified this reduction.…”

“…However, we did observe a trend towards a 0.4‐cm reduction in head circumference in marijuana and multidrug users compared with controls (test for trend P = 0.08). An association between drug use in pregnancy and head circumference has been previously reported 18–20 . A review of 230,000 in utero drug‐exposed newborns born in the United States documented a reduction in head circumference as a key outcome 18 .…”

The impact of continuing illegal drug use on teenage pregnancy outcomes—a prospective cohort study

“…An association between drug use in pregnancy and head circumference has been previously reported 18 -20 . A review of 230,000 in utero drug-exposed newborns born in the United States documented a reduction in head circumference as a key outcome 18 . A case -control study of drug-addicted newborns compared with matched controls quantified this reduction.…”

Mother-Infant Interaction: Effects of a Home Intervention and Ongoing Maternal Drug Use

“…Drug abuse among women is often associated with a chaotic caregiving environment (Butz, Lears, O'Neil, & Lukk, 1998), placing infants at significant risk for poor outcome because of prenatal drug exposure and nonresponsive parenting. Maternal substance abuse has been associated with domestic abuse (Amaro, Fried, Cabral, & Zuckerman, 1990), child abuse (Kelley, 1992;Leventhal et al, 1997), and attachment problems (Kelley, 1992), yet the research findings on the parenting of drug-using mothers are contradictory.…”