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Updated: Sep 16, 2025

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Prenatal Exposure to Methamphetamine and Its Association With Birth Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

Nima Rastegar-Pouyani1, Fatemeh Fakhari1, Armineh Rezagholi Lalani2

  • 1Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.

Birth Defects Research
|July 8, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal methamphetamine exposure significantly increases the risk of preterm birth (PTB), low birth weight (LBW), and being small for gestational age (SGA). This systematic review highlights critical public health concerns regarding substance use during pregnancy.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Perinatal Medicine
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Methamphetamine abuse is a growing global public health concern.
  • Prenatal exposure to methamphetamine poses significant risks to fetal development and newborn health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and meta-analyze the association between prenatal methamphetamine exposure and adverse birth outcomes.
  • To evaluate risks for Preterm Birth (PTB), Low Birth Weight (LBW), and Small for Gestational Age (SGA).

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus (up to Dec 2021).
  • Meta-analysis of eight observational studies using Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI).
  • Assessed heterogeneity, publication bias, and performed sensitivity analysis.

Main Results:

  • Prenatal methamphetamine exposure is associated with a 2.64 times higher risk of PTB (OR 2.64; 95% CI 1.89-3.70).
  • Associated with a 2.83 times higher risk of LBW (OR 2.83; 95% CI 1.09-7.38).
  • Associated with a 1.44 times higher risk of SGA (OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.04-1.99).

Conclusions:

  • A substantial association exists between prenatal methamphetamine exposure and PTB, LBW, and SGA.
  • Findings underscore the critical need for interventions addressing prenatal methamphetamine use.
Abstract

Keywords:
birth defectslow birth weightmeta‐analysismethamphetamineprenatal exposurepreterm birthsmall for gestational age

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