Cocaine and marijuana use during pregnancy by women intending and not intending to breast-feed.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to B S Zuckerman.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Cocaine use during pregnancy was assessed by interviews and urine assays obtained prenatally and immediately postpartum from 679 urban women enrolled in prenatal care. Of these, 17% were found to have used cocaine at least once during pregnancy. Eight percent had urine assays positive for cocaine metabolites using the enzyme-mediated immunoassay technique with a cut-off of 300 ng/mL of benzoylecgonine. Of the cocaine users, 24% denied use at the time of the interview and were identified solely by urine assay. Cocaine users were significantly (P less than .01) less likely than nonusers to be married, Hispanic, or black born outside of the United States and were less well nourished. Users reported significantly (P less than .01) more sexually transmitted diseases, prior low birth weight infants, spontaneous and elective abortions, and greater use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, opiates, and other illicit drugs during pregnancy. Because cocaine use is correlated with many potential risk factors, large sample sizes and multivariate statistical techniques are needed to determine whether cocaine use during pregnancy poses an independent risk for adverse neonatal outcomes.
Eighteen women less than 22 years old, who had their first child during adolescence, were assessed with a standard in-depth diagnostic interview for the presence of and/or history of depression and other disorders. Eight of the 18 women (44%) had experienced at least one episode of major depressive disorder at some point in their lives. A majority of episodes had their onset during pregnancy. Moreover, six women (33%) were experiencing a diagnosable form of depression at the time of the interview. Most of the women who had been depressed experienced at least part of their depression while they were raising their children. Whereas these preliminary findings need to be replicated due to the small sample size, they draw attention to the need for the integration of mental health assessment and treatment in service programs for adolescent mothers.
Childbearing and child rearing during adolescence result in poor health and psychosocial outcomes for some mothers and their children. Whereas the mental health problems of adolescent mothers are common in clinical experience, they are infrequently investigated and discussed in the literature. Mental health problems such as depression and/or drug use may be key factors in determining which mothers and their children will have poor outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to explore how depression and drug use may affect the health and development of adolescent mothers and their children. Because of their relevance to adolescent motherhood, this paper brings together information from three research areas: adolescent depression, adolescent drug use, and maternal depression.
Maternal depression is common in clinical experience but has not been fully addressed in the pediatric literature. Depression can refer to either depressive symptoms or a diagnosable depression. Depression among mothers occurs frequently, is persistent, and is related to other factors such as low social class and marital disharmony. Studies demonstrate an association between a mother's depression and adverse outcomes for her child including low birth weight, behavior problems, somatic complaints, poor growth, accidents, and affective illness. Affect and child-rearing characteristics of depressed mothers seem to be important factors in mediating these poor outcomes. Pediatricians have a special role in helping depressed mothers and their children.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is the most commonly diagnosed childhood behavioral condition in the United States. This condition has important implications for and influences on adolescent development and adult functioning including emotional and conduct disorders, poor socialization, and school underachievement. In addition it has only been appreciated recently that some symptoms of ADD persist and can be identified among adolescents and young adults. In some situations, ADD may be newly identified during adolescence. Similar to younger children with ADD, a multi-modality approach to the management of adolescents with ADD is recommended.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The impact of mothers' work during pregnancy upon neonatal outcome has not been fully elucidated. A study of maternal health habits and neonatal outcome conducted from 1977 to 1979 at Boston City Hospital assessed the effects of paid work outside the home during pregnancy, particularly third trimester work in a standing position, upon duration of gestation and intrauterine growth, while controlling for potentially confounding variables. Postpartum, 1,690 low-income women were interviewed to provide detailed information on their sociodemographic and health characteristics. Of the 1,507 women whose work status during pregnancy could be classified, 55% did not perform paid work outside the home or attend school, 7% worked into the third trimester in a standing position, and 38% had other work histories or attended school. Infants were examined according to a standard protocol by pediatricians blind to mothers' work history. There was no significant relationship between the mothers' work history during pregnancy and the infants' length of gestation, weight, or head circumference at birth, when confounding variables were controlled statistically by multiple regression analyses. However, women who worked in a standing position into the third trimester delivered infants who were longer than infants born either to mothers with other work histories or to mothers who did not work or attend school. Healthy women with uncomplicated low-risk pregnancies who feel well enough to attend school or work during pregnancy, even in a job requiring some standing, may do so without fear that their infant will suffer shortened gestation or impaired intrauterine growth.
Children's developmentally diverse temperament, motivation, and competencies, when viewed through the lens of the agent-host-environment model, help us understand the child's contribution to the occurrence of injury. Pediatricians can use this information to individualize their safety counseling.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Television has a major impact on children's knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Research has demonstrated the association between television viewing and four areas: (1) children's aggressive behavior; (2) racial and sex-role stereotypes; (3) decreased interest in reading and school activities; and (4) poorer health habits and attitudes. Methodological limitations make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about a causal relationship between television viewing and children's behavior. Representative studies in these four areas are reviewed, important methodological concerns are pointed out, and conclusions from the research findings are drawn. The implications of the data for pediatricians and other health professionals are discussed.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.