Effects of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure on Human Pregnancy and Postpartum

Malek, Antoine

doi:10.4172/2153-2435.1000191

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 86 publications

(100 reference statements)

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“…Previous studies in humans relate the use of cocaine during pregnancy to several complications for both, mother and fetus, such as preterm birth, placental abruption, preeclampsia, spontaneous abortion, lower intrauterine growth, low birth weight, and fetal neurological changes with consequent cognitive and neurodevelopmental outcomes. 2,[31][32][33] However, similarly to other studies performed with pregnant rats and mice exposed to cocaine hydrochloride, [34][35][36] we did not detect abortion or signs of fetal loss. This difference related to reproduction between human and rodents may not be directly related to the physiologic susceptibility of each species, but to the fact that women who use cocaine usually associate it with other drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, which are well known to produce heavy toxic effects in pregnancy.…”

Section: Groupssupporting

confidence: 86%

“…The use of crack cocaine throughout the prenatal period is associated with several maternal and fetal complications, such as maternal hypertension with high rates of eclampsia, preterm birth, low birth weight, smaller cranial circumference, neurological and behavior changes, and, ultimately, fetal death and abortion. [1][2][3] Crack cocaine is the free base form of cocaine hydrochloride, a potent central nervous system stimulant, and it is considered one of the most dangerous drugs due to its addictive potential. 4 This drug is freely obtained due to its low price and high availability, and it is easy to consume by smoking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Crack cocaine smoke on pregnant rats: Maternal evaluation and teratogenic effect

et al. 2019

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This study aimed to evaluate maternal toxicity, teratogenic, and placental oxidative effects resulting from the exposure of rats to crack cocaine smoke during pregnancy. Pregnant rats were exposed either to the smoke of crack and ashes (Crack) or to the smoke of ashes alone, nonexposed or pair-fed with the Crack group. Crack group was exposed to the smoke resulting from the burning of 250 mg of crack for 10 min, twice a day, from 7 days prior to mating until cesarian on gestational day 20. Placental oxidative stress and classical parameters of maternal and fetal evaluation were studied, in addition to the morphometric analysis of the fetal metamers. Even in the absence of changes in body weight gain and feed intake, crack altered the reproductive performance of dams. Exposure to the drug promoted late closure of the fetal fontanel. Furthermore, the morphometric study of the brain mass (BM)/skull cap ratio revealed a decrease in the BM of the fetuses exposed to the drug. Exposure to crack has an oxidative potential in fetal development, since exposure to the drug promoted placental lipid peroxidation. Our study showed that daily exposure to crack, even in lower frequency than that performed by users, has a teratogenic potential.

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