A study of adverse effects on the progeny after intoxication during pregnancy

The pregnancy outcomes of 109 women who were intoxicated during pregnancy due to excessive amounts of drugs and other agents were studied. Seventy per cent of the women attempted suicide, and the intoxication in 78% of all cases was caused by drugs. The stillbirth rate (4%) was higher than that in previous and subsequent pregnancies of these index females. The rate of spontaneous abortions, major congenital abnormalities, minor anomalies, infant mortality, and specific childhood diseases did not increase significantly. Seven major congenital abnormalities occurred in 96 live births; five of these definitely had no causal relation with the intoxication. The mean birthweight of the liveborn infants was not significantly lower than that of their sibs but it was significantly lower than that of sibs born previously and that of the Hungarian population. The percentage of mentally retarded offspring (6.5%) exceeded the national figure (about 3%) and the rate of sibs (2.7%); however, the difference was not significant. Three of 93 children had serious behavioral problems.