[Drugs during pregnancy--effects on the mother and next generation]

Drug abuse during pregnancy is a growing problem in all developed countries of the world. Drug-abusing women have irregular menstrual cycle often resulting in amenorrhea. However, the irregular cycle does not mean that the drug-abusing women cannot become pregnant and in that case they expose to the effects of the drug not only themselves but also their fetus. The drug easily crosses the placental barrier into the fetal body and to the maternal milk and affects both pre- and postnatal development of the child. After the cessation of the drug exposure the child has similar withdrawal symptoms as drug-abusing adults. Maternal drug abuse affects the developing system and its long-term effects can persist till adulthood. It was demonstrated that prenatal drug exposure (to drugs such as cocaine, metamphetamine, heroin, and morphine) decreases the weight of the newborns and decreases the rate of their maturation. Prenatal drug exposure also impairs learning and memory, alters responses to the new environment and stressors, changes seizure susceptibility and sexual behavior of the adult progeny. These effects seem to be due to alterations in neurotransmitter systems in the central nervous system affected by the prenatal drug exposure. The best known therapy is prevention and an attempt to diminish the drug abuse especially during pregnancy. This would be a solution not only for the issues raised in this article but for the drug abuse problem in general as well.