Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T23:28:07.654Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Management of the Pregnant Drug Addict

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Diana Riley*
Affiliation:
St John's Hospital, Stone, Aylesbury, Bucks and Clinical Assistant in Obstetric Liaison Psychiatry, University College Hospital, London
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The number of drug abusers in this country has increased over the past 20 years, and the pattern of drug taking has also changed. More people now take drugs on a recreational basis, and a smaller proportion of addicts show the full-blown picture of physical and mental deterioration associated with addiction in the past. Where such deterioration is present, pregnancy rarely occurs because of suppression of menstruation and ovulation and reduction of male fertility. Perhaps because of this change, the number of pregnant drug addicts has also increased. They now create a significant problem in the obstetric departments of hospitals in major population centres where addicts tend to congregate.

Type
Articles
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1987

References

1 Stauber, M., Schwerdt, M. & Tylden, E. (1982) Pregnancy, birth and puerperium in women suffering from heroin addiction. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 1, 128138.Google Scholar
2 Rementeria, J. L. & Nunag, N. N. (1973) Narcotic withdrawal in pregnancy. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 116, 11521156.Google Scholar
3 Connaughton, J. F., Reeser, D., Schut, J. & Finnegan, L. (1977) Perinatal addiction: Outcome and management. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 129, 679685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4 Blinik, G., Wallach, R. C., Jerez, E. & Ackerman, B. D. (1976) Drug addiction in pregnancy and the neonate. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 125, 135142.Google Scholar
5 Klenka, H. M. (1986) Babies born in a district general hospital to mothers taking heroin. British Medical Journal, 293, 745746.Google Scholar
6 Pierson, P. S., Howard, P. & Kleber, H. K. (1972) Sudden deaths in infants born to methadone-maintained addicts. Journal of the American Medical Association, 220, 17331734.Google Scholar
7 Rajegowda, B. K., Kandall, S. R. & Falciglia, H. (1978) Sudden unexpected death in the infants of narcotic dependent mothers. Early Human Development, 2, 219225.Google Scholar
8 Chavez, C. J., Ostrea, E. M., Stryker, J. C. & Smialek, Z. (1979) Sudden infant death syndrome among infants of drug dependent mothers. Journal of Pediatrics, 95, 407409.Google Scholar
9 Tylden, E. (1983) Care of the pregnant drug addict. MIMS Magazine,1 June, 14.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.