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Cited by 852Prenatal Substance Exposure EffectsPregnancy and Medication ImpactSubstance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Effects of Maternal Marijuana and Cocaine Use on Fetal Growth

Zuckerman, Barry, Frank, Deborah A., Hingson, Ralph, Amaro, Hortensia, Levenson, Suzette M., Kayne, Herbert, Parker, Steven, Vinci, Robert +5 more·1989·New England Journal of Medicine
DOI 10.1056/nejm198903233201203
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Abstract

To investigate the effects on infants of the use of marijuana and cocaine during pregnancy and to compare the importance of urine assays with that of interviews in ascertaining drug use, we prospectively studied 1226 mothers, recruited from a general prenatal clinic, and their infants. On the basis of either interviews or urine assays conducted prenatally or post partum, 27 percent of the subjects had used marijuana during pregnancy and 18 percent had used cocaine. When only positive urine assays were considered, the corresponding values were 16 percent and 9 percent, respectively. When potentially confounding variables were controlled for in the analysis, the infants whose mothers had positive urine assays for marijuana, as compared with the infants whose mothers were negative according to both interviews and urine assays, had a 79-g decrease in birth weight (P = 0.04) and a 0.5-cm decrement in length (P = 0.02). Women who had positive assays for cocaine, as compared with nonusers, had infants with a 93-g decrease in birth weight (P = 0.07), a 0.7-cm decrement in length (P = 0.01), and a 0.43-cm-smaller head circumference (P = 0.01). To compare our findings with those of other investigators who did not use urine assays, we repeated the analyses, considering only self-reported use of marijuana (23 percent) and cocaine (13 percent). There were no significant associations between such use as determined by interviews alone and any of the measures of outcome. We conclude that the use of marijuana or cocaine during pregnancy is associated with impaired fetal growth and that measuring a biologic marker of such use is important to demonstrate the association.

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Authors
Zuckerman, B., Frank, D. A., Hingson, R., Amaro, H., Levenson, S. M., Kayne, H., Parker, S., Vinci, R., Aboagye, K., Fried, L. E., Cabral, H., Timperi, R., & Bauchner, H.
Affiliations
  • City of Boston (US)
  • Boston University (US)
ORCID
Venue
New England Journal of Medicine
Publisher
Massachusetts Medical Society
Published
1989-03-23
Volume
320
Issue
12
Pages
762-768
ISSN
  • 0028-4793 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-4406
DOI
10.1056/nejm198903233201203
OpenAlex
W2321372592
Cited by
852
References
28
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 8
FWCI
83.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • New England Journal of Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01da003508-05)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01-DA-03508)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Pregnancy and Medication Impact
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
Keywords
maternal marijuana use, maternal cocaine use, prenatal drug exposure, fetal growth, birth weight, infant length, head circumference, self-reported drug use
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Birth Weight, Body Height, Marijuana Abuse, Cocaine, Female, Embryonic and Fetal Development, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Interviews as Topic, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Prospective Studies, Self Disclosure, Substance-Related Disorders

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