[Epidemiological study on addictive behaviours during pregnancy in a universitary department]

Epidemiological study on addictive disorders during pregnancy.

An epidemiological study about addictive disorders has been led in the maternity of the University Hospital of Nantes in 2008 on a sample of 300 women, just after childbirth. The prevalence of consumption of drugs was assessed on declared consumption of legal and illegal substances and on the Fagerström questionnaire, the AUDIT questionnaire and the CAST questionnaire. Diagnostic of eating disorders was based on DSM IV criteria of mental anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

At the beginning of pregnancy, 34% of women used tobacco, 63% alcohol and 8% cannabis. Among the women of the study 0.7% had criteria for mental anorexia, 2.3% for bulimia nervosa and 9% for sub clinic forms. After the first trimester, 22% of women declared using tobacco, 20% alcohol and 3% cannabis. The use of various drugs during pregnancy concerned 6.3% of women, and 38% used at least one drug after the first trimester.

The high prevalence of addictive disorders during pregnancy should incite professional of prenatal care to improve their screening methodology and not only when tobacco or alcohol is suspected.