Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Jun;113(6):1285-1291.
doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181a5ec6f.

Methamphetamine use among pregnant women

Mishka Terplan  1 , Erica J Smith, Michael J Kozloski, Harold A Pollack
Affiliations

Methamphetamine use among pregnant women

Mishka Terplan et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To estimate trends in the prevalence of methamphetamine treatment during pregnancy in the United States.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Treatment Episode Data Set, an administrative data set that captures admissions to federally funded treatment centers in the United States. Demographic and treatment-related measures were examined among women admitted for methamphetamine use and stratified by year of admission to assess trends over time.

Results: From 1994 to 2006 there were 245,970 pregnant women admitted. In 1994, methamphetamine accounted for 8% of admitted pregnant women, rising to 24% by 2006. This proportion was higher than methamphetamine admissions among both nonpregnant women (12%) and men (7%). The majority of methamphetamine admissions occurred in the West (73%) among white (64%) unemployed (88%) women. Over the time of analysis, women admitted for methamphetamine treatment became sicker (measured by increasing co-occurring psychiatric disorders) and more marginalized (measured by increasing dependent-living situations and criminal justice involvement).

Conclusion: Methamphetamine has become the primary substance compelling treatment during pregnancy. Our findings suggest a need for more effective drug and alcohol screening by clinicians who are positioned to identify and address such concerns outside the criminal justice system.

Level of evidence: III.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: national findings. DHHS Publication No. SMA 06-4194. Report No.: H-30. Rockville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2006.
    1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). Highlights—2005. National admissions to substance abuse treatment services. DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 07-4229. Report No.: DASIS Series: S-36. Rockville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2006.
    1. Cox S, Posner SF, Kourtis AP, Jamieson DJ. Hospitalizations with amphetamine abuse among pregnant women. Obstet Gynecol 2008;111:341–7.
    1. Kim J, Krall J. Literature review: effects of prenatal substance exposure on infant and early childhood outcomes. Berkeley (CA): University of California at Berkeley; 2006.
    1. Smith L, Yonekura ML, Wallace T, Berman N, Kuo J, Berkowitz C. Effects of prenatal methamphetamine exposure on fetal growth and drug withdrawal symptoms in infants born at term. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2003;24:17–23.

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources