Study Measures Drug Use During PregnancyJune 2, 2005
Research Summary
About four percent of pregnant women ages 15 to 44 are current users of illicit drugs, and younger women are more likely to use drugs than older expectant moms, according to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Still, past-month drug use among pregnant women was less than half that of non-pregnant women in the same age group, according to data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health for 2002 and 2003.
The "Substance Use During Pregnancy: 2002 and 2003 Update" also found that four percent of pregnant women reported binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks at a sitting), and 18 percent smoked cigarettes. Nearly 10 percent of pregnant women said they had consumed alcohol during the past month.
Further, pregnant women ages 15 to 25 were more than twice as likely to have smoked cigarettes during the past month (27.6 percent) than pregnant women ages 26 to 44 (10.8 percent). Alcohol and other drug use rates were lower for recent mothers than for women who were not recent mothers.
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