Despite the known harmful effects of toxic substances in pregnancy, the number of pregnant women who consume them during pregnancy is worrying.
According to a study carried out in Galicia over six years with pregnant women, one in three consumes some harmful substance for the gestation and development of the baby during the first years of life. Tobacco, alcohol and drugs, are the most common, although there are also illegal drugs.
The thesis "Intrauterine exposure to drugs: new methods of detection and consequences on the health of the newborn", prepared by the neonatologist pediatrician Eva González collects data from 867 women from Vigo and Santiago de Compostela. The results showed that:
- A third of the women tested tested positive for some toxic substance.
- Almost one in five tested positive for tobacco or alcohol
- He ten percent tested positive for drugs, the majority, with medical prescription.
- 16.83% tested positive for drugs, the most frequent cocaine, which was present in 8.3% of the samples. Other controlled drugs were cannabis (6.4%), opioids (5.7%), amphetamines (2%) and scopolamine (0.4%)
In Babies and more 70 percent of pregnant women do not follow healthy eating and exercise habits, according to a survey"The fundamental objective is to achieve a social awareness that this happens and that it does not have to happen because it is not harmless to the baby."
How it affects the developing baby
The research included a follow-up of the babies during the first two years of life, with the objective of assessing the effects of the consumption of these substances by their mothers in their somatic, neurosensory and respiratory pathology development.
In the case of pregnant women who used legal and illegal drugs, they had a higher number of abortions, both voluntary and spontaneous. And the babies were born smaller in weight, length and perimeter of the skull.
Among the pregnant women who drank in alcohol, however, were bigger than they should. Except in large consumption, fetal alcohol syndrome and (barely occur in Spain), the alterations produced by the drink is not usually seen until school age and the study did not cover it.
Recall that alcohol consumption in pregnancy is one of the most frequent causes of mental retardation and is also related to other developmental risks such as malformations, growth retardation, low weight and learning problems.
"They will be children who will have more problems in school," according to the director of the study. They have higher rates of aggressiveness in the future, as well as behavioral problems.13.6% of pregnant women smoked. Dr. González warns that "it is one of the substances that produces more alterations" in the perinatal period. They were observed in fetal well-being, thanks to the monitoring of the delivery, and also by the higher number of newborns income. They are "nonspecific" and "subtle", such as irritability due to nicotine withdrawal.
Among the pregnant women who consume cocaine, in a greater number of cases, their newborns they needed resuscitation. They were born early (although there were no major premature babies) and obtained lower scores on the Apgar Test. They also observed that they were smaller during the two years that the follow-up was performed.
