Sudden Deaths in Infants Born to Methadone-Maintained Addicts

Ventilatory Response to Hypercarbia in Newborns of Smoking and Substance-Misusing Mothers

“…Seventeen percent of pregnant women in the UK have been reported to smoke throughout pregnancy (5). Infants of mothers who smoked and/or substance misused during pregnancy have an increased risk of sudden infant death (SIDS) (6)(7)(8). A National Institute of Child Health and Human Development study reported a twofold increased risk of SIDS in infants of substance misusing mothers (9).…”

Maternal and Paternal Recreational Drug Use and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

“…The possible connection between maternal opiate use during pregnancy and subsequent SIDS in offspring has been suggested anecdotally by Kahn et al 4 and Pierson et al, 5 in studies of SIDS deaths from heroin and methadone, [6][7][8][9] and in studies of cocaine-exposed infants. [6][7][8][9][10] In the largest study, Chavez et al 11 reported 17 SIDS deaths out of 688 live births to drug-using mothers (eg, methadone, heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines).…”

“…Conflicting results among these studies may be due to small sample sizes, inability to document maternal and paternal drug use (including variations, type, dose, duration, and timing during conception and pregnancy), failure to differentiate between prenatal and postnatal drug exposure, and absence and/or inadequate adjustment of potential confounders (eg, socioeconomic status, prematurity, low birth weight, and prenatal care). [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] To our knowledge, no other studies have investigated paternal substance use, including marijuana, during pregnancy and conception, nor have any studies examined maternal recreational drug use during the period of conception.…”

“…Recreational drugs have been implicated as a risk factor for SIDS, although findings have not been consistent. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] In this study, the number of mothers who reported using drugs during conception or pregnancy was small, and therefore, we had little power to detect statistically significant associations.…”

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

“…5 Epidemiological studies of SIDS have consistently reported the following findings: (1) a unique death distribution, with the majority occurring between 2 and 5 months of age, 6 (2) excessive number of deaths in the winter months, 7 (3) higher death rates among blacks 8 and male infants, 9 -11 and (4) mothers who usually are of a lower socioeconomic status, 12 are predominantly young, 13 have limited education, 14 are unmarried, 15 and frequently use drugs before, during, and after pregnancy. 16,17 Environmental risk factors shown to be associated with SIDS include carbon monoxide, 18 carbon dioxide, 19 bedding, 20 bed sharing, 21 hypothermia, and hyperthermia. 22,23 Nonenvironmental risk factors also have been associated with SIDS.…”