Prevalence of narcotic substance abuse and the maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnant women

• Main Authors: Marzeyeh Torshizi, SeyedAlireza Saadatjoo, Masoumeh Farabi
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: Jahrom University of Medical Sciences 2011-05-01
• Series: فصلنامه دانشگاه علوم پزشکی جهرم
• Subjects: pregnancy; prevalence; illicit drugs; fetal outcome; preterm labor
• Online Access: http://jmj.jums.ac.ir/article-1-165-en.html

Introduction: Narcotic substance abuse is today prevalent crossed many communities around the world, and is among the major health problems that endanger a great number of people including the pregnant mothers because of its untoward maternal and fetal outcomes. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of substance abuse and its maternal and fetal outcomes. Material and Methods: This is a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study (October 2006–December 2007) conducted on 4647 women who had the criteria for admission to labor wards of educational hospital of Birjand, Iran. Data were collected through a questionnaire. The obtained data were statistically analyzed in SPSS software using descriptive statistics and logistic regression tests at the significance level of <0.05. Results: The results revealed that the prevalence of addiction among pregnant women was 0.69% and the mean age of the female addicts was 29.4 ± 1.32 years. Among the males, it was 45.5% with a mean age of 20-29 years. In the addicted group, 11.4% abruptio placenta, 10% stillbirth and 37.6% fetal distress were reported. The mean of gestational age was 34.6 ± 1.34 weeks and premature delivery was significantly more common in the group of pregnant addicts (31.3 vs. 7.1%). Conclusion: Addicted pregnant women present a small but high-risk group as to the perinatal outcome. Appropriate obstetric and neonatal care can reduce the rate of complications in these pregnancies and improve perinatal outcome. Therefore, preventive educational programs during pregnancy should focus on reduction or replacement of such substances with safe drugs.