Maternal nonnarcotic substance abuse during pregnancy: effects on infant development.

Although maternal ingestion of narcotic substances throughout pregnancy has been of increasing concern over the past two decades in this country, the even more prevalent problem of use and abuse of nonnarcotic substances by the pregnant woman has received little attention. This paper presents data on a group of infants delivered to nonnarcotic-abusing women and compares these infants to a group of infants born to mothers on low-dose methadone maintenance and to a group of infants delivered to drug-free women. Nonnarcotic-exposed infants were of normal birth weight and length and had a normal head circumference; on the other hand, opiate-exposed neonates were of low birth weight and length and had a small head circumference. On the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scales, the nonnarcotic-exposed infants demonstrated irritability and deficits in state control. In long-term follow-up, evaluation of these infants with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development revealed normal scores through 12 months of age. By 24 months of age, scores for all groups, including the control group, began to fall away from the normal range.