Maternal substance abuse.

The epidemic of substance abuse, which has swept through much of the world, has left behind a trail of devastated lives and families. Alcohol and substance abuse by women during pregnancy has also been reported to be widespread and can affect the unborn fetus with the potential for life-long disabilities. While the magnitude of the perinatal substance abuse has been the focus of much discussion in the West, the problem is greatly underestimated in other parts of the world. In this article, the author has focused on five highly-abused substances and explored the effects of the drugs on the fetus and the newborn. There is a constant need for evaluating the epidemiology and the consequences of perinatal substance abuse so that health programs can target measures to eliminate the preventable morbidity that results from this practice.