Women who use methamphetamine during pregnancy are at least three times more likely to give birth to underweight babies than non-meth users, according to researchers at the Brown University Medical Center and Women & Infants Hospital.

Study author Barry Lester said that, as with prenatal cocaine use, babies born to methamphetamine users often fell below the 10th percentile for weight, being delivered at less than 5 pounds. The drug apparently restricts the flow of blood from the placenta, preventing the fetus from getting adequate nutrients from the mother.

Lester said the Infant Developmental Environment and Lifestyle Study (IDEAL) would continue by tracking the children born to meth-using mothers. "We're also very concerned about the developmental implications," he said. "Children who are born underweight tend to have behavior problems, such as hyperactivity or short attention span, as well as learning difficulties."

Lester previously led the Maternal Lifestyle Study, the largest prospective study to date on cocaine-exposed children. "Both of these drugs are central nervous stimulants, and it appears that both drugs have similar effects on the developing fetus," he said. "But I hope that the 'crack baby' hysteria does not get repeated. While these children may have some serious health and developmental challenges, there is no automatic need to label them as damaged and remove them from their biological mothers.

"There are alternatives for the mother and the baby that can keep families together, such as the specialized drug court we established here in Providence that is based on treatment, rather than punishment."

The research appears in the September 2006 issue of the journal Pediatrics. 

Reference:
Smith, L.M. et al. (2006). The Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle Study: Effects of Prenatal Methamphetamine Exposure, Polydrug Exposure, and Poverty on Intrauterine Growth. Pediatrics, 118, 3,:1149-1156.