Abstract

PINUNURI, Raúl et al. Exposition to drugs of abuse in pregnancy and breastfed babies growth in Conin Valparaíso, Chile. Nutr. Hosp. [online]. 2015, vol.31, n.5, pp.2070-2078. ISSN 1699-5198.  https://dx.doi.org/10.3305/nh.2015.31.5.8636.

Introduction: Consequences related to drugs exposure during fetal life have been extensively studied. The present work explores the Chilean situation about this matter, characterizing growth of infants previously exposed to drugs during fetal life. Objectives: Compare anthropometric measurements between neonates exposed to drugs due to maternal consumption during pregnancy and an unexposed control group from 0 -6 months of life. Methodology: Anthropometric data from 74 control infants from a Health Center in Valparaiso, Chile, and 61 infants exposed to drugs during gestation from the Corporation for Infant Nutrition (CONIN, Valparaíso, Chile) were obtained. Data obtained from both groups were subjected to a T-Student statistical analysis by group. Results: According to gestational age there were more pre-term infants in CONIN-exposed group, reaching more than 25 % prevalence. On the contrary, prevalence in unexposed control infants was less than 11 %. In addition, CONIN group showed a higher number of small for gestational age infants of both sex (37% CONIN vs 6% Control), evaluated according to the Chilean intrauterine growth curves. Length and weight showed statistical significant differences between both groups from birth to 6 months of life. Female infants showed significant differences in cephalic circumference until one month of life, while in male infants this difference is maintained until 6 month of life. Z score for indicators such as weight/ length, weight/age and length/age during first 6 months of life, leads to conclude that CONIN group is at risk of undernutrition while control group should be considered as normal. Conclusions: Maternal drugs consumption during pregnancy results in marked deficient anthropometric characteristics of newborn and until 6 month of life. This fact may have metabolic long term consequences associated to development of chronic non-communicable diseases during adulthood.

Keywords : Drugs; Addiction; Pregnancy; Effects of drugs; Child growth.

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