Akailah Mason Professor Wolcott Enc 1102 5 April 2013 Literature Review Substance use during pregnancy has

been an increasing problem in the United States. Many researchers have analyzed the effects of substance abuse during pregnancy on the development, mentally and physically, on the child. Several things are thought to be correlated to substance use during pregnancy like symptoms of ADHD, lower cognitive ability, fetal alcohol syndrome, facial abnormalities, etc. The substances taken by mothers while pregnant include marijuana, crack/cocaine, and methamphetamine. The purpose of this literature review is to address the effects of substance use, during pregnancy, on the baby. The intended audience is for other researchers that specialize in pediatrics or neurotoxicology and teratology, who are interested in the analyzing these effects. Substance use effects the offsprings growth Studies have shown that substance use during pregnancy has an effect on the babys birth weight, birth length, and head circumference (Barr, Cornelius, Hingson, Murray, and Smith). Over a period of time it was confirmed that the drug use was associated with reduce birth weight, length, head, and chest circumference. Lower birth weight, birth length, and head circumference caused by intake of alcohol are still apparent in infants during the second half of the first year of life (Barr, et al). Prenatal marijuana exposure was associated with reduced gestational age, meaning the fetus wasnt completely finished developing, which is also the cause of reduce birth

length, weight, etc (Cornelius, et al, Hingson, et al). Prenatal methamphetamine and cocaine is also associated with growth restriction in utero (Smith, et al, Murray,et al). Substance use affects facial features While substance use affects physical growth, like head circumference, birth weight, and birth length, it also has effects on the physical features of the child. In one study, the researchers hypothesized that facial features specific to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) facial features may not, at all, be just specific to alcohol (Astley, et al). In this study, the association between first trimester marijuana exposure and FAS-like facial features was investigated. While there were no reoccurring relationships between the facial features of infants who were exposed to marijuana during the first trimester and FAS, there was an association between prenatal marijuana exposure and congenital (inborn) malformations. Children with FAS have more extreme cases of facial deformities and are associated with higher intake of alcohol. Less extreme facial deformities are called Fetal Alcohol Effects (Graham, et al). These studies showed that there can be various phenotypic features, not just a single one, that are reoccurring among the infants who are exposed to substance will in utero. Substance use affects mental function/cognitive ability There is a noticeable difference in the mental function of a child exposed to drugs compared to a child not exposed to drugs (Godschmit et al, Carmody et al, Murray, et al, Bennett et al). Prenatal cocaine exposure has been hypothesized to adversely affect childrens cognitive development (Bennett, Berndersky, and Lewis). In their study, cocaine exposed children exhibited lower IQ score, on average, with a score of 78.5 as opposed to the unexposed children who had an average IQ score of 85.08. Exposed children also exhibited lower short-term memory scores, 89.65, than unexposed children, 95.58 at 6 years of age. At 9 years old cocaine

exposed children still had the lower IQ scores, however the differences werent as significant. Godschmit, et al, discovered that during the first trimester, the amount of marijuana intake was directly related to how much lower the child mental function was compared to unexposed children. Carmody, et al, research, shows that the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on attention and inhibition are closely related, and the children exhibit symptoms related to Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder (ADHD). Disagreements The researchers, Mark Scher, et al, concluded different results that the rest of the researchers in the conversation. The methodology used in this research could have possibly been flawed, because it shows that there is no association between drugs and the birth weight, length, and circumference. However, being this is the only article concluding those results in this conversation, and also the fact that his has been disproved by other researchers, shows that this is not a common article within this conversation. Conclusion In this conversation, it was agreed upon, by the majority, that substance us during pregnancy, in fact, has negative effects on the development, physically and mentally, of the child. However, with all of the research conducted, there was no research evaluating the effects heroin, during pregnancy, on the baby.

Works Cited Astley, Susan J, et al. Analysis of Facial Shape in Children Gestationally Exposed to Marijuana, Alcohol, and/or Cocaine. Pediatrics 89.1 (1992):67-77. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Barr, Helen M. Infant Size at 8 Months of Age: Relationship to Maternal Use of Alcohol, Nicotine, and Caffeine During Pregnancy. Pediatrics 74.3 (1984): 335-341. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Bennett, David S., et al. Childrens Cognitive Ability From 4 to 9 Years Old as a Function of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure, Environmental Risk, and Maternal Verbal Intelligence. Developmental Psychology 44. 4 (2008):919928. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Carmody, Dennis P., et al. The effects of prenatal cocaine exposure and gender on inhibitory control and attention. Neurotoxicology and Teratology 33 (2011): 51-58. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Cornelius, Marie D., et al. Prenatal Tobacco and Marijuana Use Among Adolescence Effects on Offspring Gestational Age, Growth, and Morphology. Pediatrics 95.5 (1995): 738-743. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Goldschmidt, Lidush, et al. School achievement in 14-year-old youths prenatally exposed to marijuana. Neurotoxicology and Teratology 34 (2012): 161-167. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

Graham, John M., et al. Independent Dysmorphology Evaluations at Birth and 4 years of Age for Children Exposed to Varying Amounts of Alcohol in Utero. Pediatrics 81.6 (1988): 772-778. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Hingson, Ralph, et al. Effects of Maternal Drinking Marijuana Use on Fetal Growth and Development. Pediatrics 70.4 (1982): 539-546. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Lumeng, Julie C. et al. Pre-natal exposures to cocaine and alcohol and physical growth patterns to age 8 years. Neurotoxicology and Teratology 29 (2007): 446-457. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Murray, James et al. "Cocaine/ Polydrug Use In Pregnancy: Two-Year Follow-Up." Pediatrics 89.2 (1992): 284-289. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Scher, Mark S. et al. Effects of Prenatal Cocaine/Crack and Other Drug Exposure on Electroencephalographic Sleep Studies at Birth and One Year. Pediatrics 105.1 (2000): 39-48. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Smith, Lynne M., et al. The Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle Study: Effects of prenatal Methamphetamine Exposure, Polydrug Exposure, and Poverty on Intrauterine Growth. Pediatrics 118.3 (2006): 1149-1156. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.