QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Oyemade, U. J. Articles by Edwards, C. H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Oyemade, U. J. Articles by Edwards, C. H.

Prenatal Substance Abuse and Pregnancy Outcomes Among African American Women¹

Ura Jean Oyemade², O. Jackson Cole, Allan A. Johnson^*, Enid M. Knight^*, Ouida E. Westney, Haziel Laryea, Gloria Hill, Elaine Cannon, A. Fomufod^**, Lennox S. Westney, Sidney Jones^* and Cecile H. Edwards^*

Department of Human Development ^* Department of Nutritional Sciences ^** Department of Pediatrics Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Howard University ^* D. C. General Hospital Nutrition Program Project, and Howard University Hospital, Washington, D. C. 20059

Subjects in this prospective observational study were 467 nulliparous women, ages 16–35, recruited at the prenatal clinics of a university hospital and a public hospital. Using a purposive sampling approach, an entry questionnaire and a series of psychosocial instruments were administered throughout the pregnancy course to assess stress, anxiety, body image, self-esteem, pregnancy symptoms, locus of control, and partner's interaction. Several pregnancy outcome measures were determined after delivery. Brazelton neonatal behavioral assessments were performed two days after birth of infants delivered to the maternal subjects.

Self-reported substance abuse data were obtained from the entry questionnaire and the medical intake records, with usage characterized in terms of occurrence prior to and/or during pregnancy. Illicit drug users during pregnancy had lower self-esteem, greater stress, more pregnancy symptoms, a more negative pre-pregnancy body image and less favorable interactions with their partners. T test results show that infants of smokers had smaller head circumferences, shorter body length, and less optimal Brazelton orientation performance. Infants of illicit drug users had smaller head circumferences and shorter body lengths.

KEY WORDS: • prenatal substance abuse • infant behavior • illicit drugs

¹ The investigations reported in this paper were made as part of the program project "Nutrition, Other Factors and the Outcome of Pregnancy," supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, through a grant in 1985 to the Department of Human Nutrition and Food, School of Human Ecology, Howard University. Guest Editor for this supplement volume to The Journal of Nutrition was Cecile H. Edwards, Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Allied Health Sciences, Howard University, Washington, D.C. 20059. Tapes of the data are available at cost by sending a written request to the Guest Editor at the above address. Supported by Grant 3 PO1 HD17104-05, ENG, NICHD, NIH.

² To whom correspondence should be addressed: Department of Human Development, School of Education, Howard University, Washington, D.C. 20059.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Ohgi, T. Takahashi, J. K. Nugent, K. Arisawa, and T. Akiyama Neonatal Behavioral Characteristics and Later Behavioral Problems Clinical Pediatrics, October 1, 2003; 42(8): 679 - 686. [Abstract] [PDF]