MONDAY, April 7 (HealthDay News) -- Babies born to women who use
cocaine, alcohol or tobacco during pregnancy may have brain
structure changes that persist into early adolescence, a new U.S.
study says.
Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Boston Medical
Center used MRI scans to study the brains of 35 children, average
age 12, who were exposed to the substances while in the womb.
"We found that reductions in cortical gray matter and total
brain volumes were associated with prenatal exposure to cocaine,
alcohol or cigarettes," study first author Dr. Michael Rivkin, a
neurologist at Children's Hospital Boston, said in a prepared
statement.
The more substances a child was exposed to, the greater the
reduction in brain volume.
The study, published in the April issue of the journal
Pediatrics, is the first to document joint long-term effects
of prenatal cocaine, alcohol and tobacco exposure on brain
structure, Rivkin said.
Previous studies that documented brain effects of prenatal
alcohol exposure were mostly limited to children with fetal alcohol
syndrome. Children with that condition were excluded from this new
study.
Rivkin noted that his study was too small to find statistically
significant effects of single substances after factoring in
exposure to other substances, and was also too small to document
the effects of different levels of prenatal exposure.
However, Rivkin said the overall findings are highly suggestive,
and he and his colleagues would like to continue their research
into this important public health matter. It's estimated that more
than one million babies born each year in the United States have
been exposed to at least one of these substance while in the
womb.
Health-care providers should offer pregnant women comprehensive
care to help them reduce the use of all harmful substances. And
public health campaigns shouldn't ignore the risks of some
substances while focusing on others, since the greater the number
of total prenatal exposures, the more likely there will be harmful
and lasting effects on a baby's developing brain, the study authors
said.
More information
The American Pregnancy Association has more about
pregnancy wellness.
