So named because of its blue-white sparkly appearance, crystal methamphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant and illegal street drug. Young women may smoke, snort or inject meth to improve energy and mood and suppress appetite. Users quickly become addicted and may suffer from increased blood pressure, malnutrition, sleep deprivation, paranoia and hallucinations. Because it readily crosses into the placenta, methamphetamine use in pregnancy directly affects babies. Substance abuse also puts mothers at risk for sexually transmitted disease, violence and other dangers associated with a chemically dependent lifestyle.
Brain Development
Prenatal exposure to methamphetamine results in structural changes in a baby's brain. In a study published in the March 2010 issue of "Journal of Neuoscience," researchers at UCLA used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examined the brains of 61 children, 21 of whom were born to meth-using mothers. Compared to normal children and children who were prenatally exposed to alcohol, the meth-exposed youngsters showed a shrunken caudate nucleus. This region of the brain is associated with memory, learning, motivation and motor control. Animal studies at the University of Toronto resulted in similar findings. In the August 2005 issue of "Free Radical Biology and Medicine," scientists described how a single exposure to methamphetamine in mice during pregnancy produced offspring that suffered persistent impaired motor coordination. The effects lasted until the baby mice were 12 weeks of age.
Low Birth Weight
During pregnancy, methamphetamine use is associated with preterm labor and delivery, reports the March of Dimes, adding that meth-exposed babies are three times more likely than unexposed infants to have restricted growth in the womb. Due to insufficient blood flow through the placenta, these babies may not be able to withstand the stress of labor and may need to be delivered by cesarean section to prevent stillbirth. Even when born at term, drug-affected babies may have abnormally small head circumference, associated with learning problems, and weigh less than 5 lbs 8 oz. Low birth weight (LBW) and premature infants commonly suffer from complications, including respiratory distress, hypothermia, hypoglycemia, feeding problems and jaundice. Preterm and LBW drug-exposed infants are also at high risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which causes infants under one year old to die, usually in their sleep.
Birth Defects
Researchers at the Hawaii Birth Defects Program studied drug-exposed babies born between 1986 and 2002 who were born with a variety of congenital abnormalities. Maternal methamphetamine use was correlated with significantly higher than expected rates in 21 of 54 possible birth defects, including cleft palates, heart defects and limb-reduction deformities (missing fingers and toes).
References
- "J Neurosci.", Differentiating Prenatal Exposure to Methamphetamine and Alcohol Versus Alcohol and Not Methamphetamine Using Tensor-Based Brain Morphometry and Discriminant Analysis; March 2010
- "Free Radic Biol Med", Methamphetamine-Enhanced Embryonic Oxidative DNA Damage and Neurodevelopmental Deficits; Aug. 2005
- March of Dimes: Illicit Drug Use During Pregnancy
- "J Toxicol Environ Health A", Risk of Selected Birth Defects With Prenatal Illicit Drug Use, Hawaii, 1986-2002; January,2007
