Meth use during pregnancy may affect baby's behaviour: Study

Washington, Mar 21 - Women who use methamphetamine during pregnancy may be placing their unborn children at risk of developing behavioural problems during childhood, a new study has claimed.
 Studies of children exposed to the cocaine-like stimulant drug in their mothers' womb have already linked the exposure

to stunting foetal growth, increasing newborns' stress level and affecting their motor development.
 Now, a team at the Brown University in the US who looked at babies of meth-using mothers since birth found that the drug's exposure could also take a toll on a child's mood and behaviour.

 They are more likely to suffer from anxious and depressed moods by age three, and at five years, these meth-exposed kids are more likely to Òact outÓ behaviourally and show symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the team reported in the journal Pediatrics.

 These findings are alarming, because behaviours seen at these young ages tend to persist, said study researcher Linda LaGasse, an assistant professor of pediatrics, said.

 ÒIt is not just about 3 to 5, it's setting the groundwork potentially for the future unless something interrupts it,Ó LaGasse told LiveScience.
 Methamphetamines, also known as speed or ice, create a feeling of energy and euphoria. According to a 2009 estimate, some 1.2 million Americans aged 12 and over had used meth at least once that year. Nearly 7 per cent were pregnant women.

 For the new study, the researchers used data from public health studies that had recruited mothers and their babies, and examined the behaviours of children who had been exposed to meth in utero. Mothers reported whether they had taken meth during pregnancy, and the babies' first stools were tested for signs of meth exposure.

 At follow-up interviews when the children were 3 and 5 years old, the caregivers responded to questions about the children's behaviours and moods.
 In addition, the 204 meth-exposed babies in the sample were matched with babies who had not been exposed to meth but were similar in other characteristics, including age, birth weight and mother's education.

At three years of age, the children exposed to meth seemed no different from unexposed children in measures of so-called ÒexternalisingÓ behaviours.

 These are acting-out behaviours such as bullying and other forms of aggression, and restlessness and other behaviours linked to ADHD. But, by age five, the unexposed children were maturing and showing fewer acting-out behaviours. On the other hand, the exposed kids seemed to be in a state of arrested development, the researchers said.

 ÒIt's like they don't make that transitional step. They are not getting worse, they're just staying,Ó LaGasse said.
 But of even more concern, LaGasse said, is what the researchers found out about ÒinternalisingÓ behaviours, or mood problems such as anxiety and depression.

 Kids exposed to meth before birth had a higher rate of these problems than unexposed kids at age three, and that difference persisted to age five,Ó LaGasse added.