[Children born to drug addicted mothers]

[Non-drug psycho-active substance use and pregnancy]

BACKGROUND

The consumption of psycho-active substances (PAS) by pregnant women is in a growing increase around the world. It is a major problem of public health in some countries due to serious and negative consequences for children and society as well as for pregnant women. This problem has also increased among women in Morocco. However, it is still neglected and underrated in the absence of any official statistical data. This is the first study leading to a better profiling of pregnant women who may consume psycho-active substances during their pregnancy; it would permit better medical and psychosocial care of both women and children.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence and the factors associated with the psycho-active substances used by pregnant women and describe their socio-demographic characteristics.

METHODS AND PATIENTS

A trans-sectional study was carried out from September to October 2010, including pregnant women consulting at the obstetrical service of the provincial hospital Moulay Abdellah in the city of Salé. The study included women who were pregnant or had recently given birth, and not having any serious mental disorders that could have upset their cognitive abilities. The data was collected through a straight questionnaire of 25 items specifying the socio-demographic characteristics, data about pregnancy and habits of using psycho-active substances.

RESULTS

One hundred and fifty pregnant women were included in the study. The majority of them (83.2%) were aged 20 to 40 years old, 94.6% were married, 96% were unemployed and depended on their spouses for their financial resources and 80% had normal domestic relationships (from average to good quality). Among the women, 31.3% of them reported traumatic events in the past. The prevalence of psycho-active substance consumption by the pregnant women of our sample was 11.3%. The used substances were tobacco (9.3%) and cannabis (4%). These women were more likely to have a low level of education (47.1 vs 16.5). They were victims of abuse or neglect in their past (82.3 vs 24.9), and their relationships with their spouses were bad (70.6 vs 13.5) with a lack of desired pregnancy (47.1 vs 27.8) and poor follow-up (47.1 vs 3.8). The results show statistically significant differences.

CONCLUSION

Not only should decision-makers draw attention to the seriousness of the problem because of the relatively high rate of psycho-active substance consumption, but also they should increase obstetric team's awareness to look systematically for psycho-active substance use.