PRENATAL COCAINE USE - A COMPARISON OF NEONATES MATCHED ON MATERNAL RISK-FACTORS

This study was designed to overcome some of the methodological limitat ions of previous work and investigate the impact of prenatal cocaine u se in an understudied population: women using rural county public heal th units who had minimal access to drug rehabilitation. Through matern al history, interviews, and urine screens, 172 cocaine users were iden tified. Using an independently collected perinatal data base, 168 nonu sers were matched for six variables known to affect pregnancy outcome and chosen a priori: race, age, parity, prenatal care, alcohol, and ni cotine use. To avoid chance findings, 10 adverse perinatal outcome var iables were identified prospectively. Cocaine-exposed neonates experie nced significantly more of the adverse events than the matched control s and were more likely to be preterm, low birthweight, resuscitated at birth, and to remain in the hospital after their mothers were dischar ged. We conclude that prenatal cocaine use can be a contributor to adv erse perinatal outcome in this population. An understanding of the eff ects of prenatal cocaine use and the needs of these women and infants is important for designing appropriate prenatal care, treatment, and f ollow-up programs.