December 6, 2001
Researchers find a cluster of risk factors in pregnant Ecstasy users
Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children have found that pregnant women who use the drug Ecstasy have a clustering of risk factors that may compromise pregnancy and the unborn fetus.
The Motherisk study, published in the December issue of Neurotoxicology and Teratology, focused on identifying the characteristics of pregnant women who use Ecstasy (3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA) and has found that these women tend to be young, single, and report psychological problems. Smoking, heavy alcohol intake, multiple drug use, combined with a higher than expected rate of unplanned pregnancies, were also common among these women and increase the risk of fetal exposure to potentially harmful substances.
"There has been a definite increase in Ecstasy use among expectant women calling the Motherisk counseling phone lines. A new generation of young people are attending raves and engaging in the use of drugs such as Ecstasy," said Dr. Gideon Koren, the study's principal investigator, director of Motherisk, and a professor of Paediatrics, Pharmacology, and Medicine and Medical Genetics at the University of Toronto. "It is important to account for the range of confounding risk factors among women who use Ecstasy in order to define possible direct effects of the drug in pregnancy."
"This study is the first to examine the characteristics of pregnant women who use Ecstasy. What was surprising about the findings was that these women are using not only Ecstasy, but often many other drugs of abuse, in addition to higher than average rates of alcohol use," said Dr. Koren.
The study compared 132 pregnant women who used Ecstasy with 122 pregnant nonusers. It took into account such measures as age, maternal demographics, pregnancy characteristics, patterns of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug use, psychological and emotional status, sexually transmitted disease, Ecstasy method and pattern of use, and adverse drug reactions after ingestion. The women in the study were counseled by the Motherisk program between December 1998 and October 2000.
"It is essential to look at these issues from a public health perspective, in order to protect the health of both the young people involved in these activities as well as a whole generation of babies who may potentially be affected," added Dr. Koren.
A second phase of the Motherisk study will look specifically at the effects of Ecstasy on the unborn child.
Funding for this research was provided by The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, the Brewers Association of Canada, which supports Motherisk's Alcohol and Substance Use Helpline, and the Duchesnay and Canadian Foundation for Women's Health Chair in Better Pharmacotherapy During Pregnancy and Lactation.
The Hospital for Sick Children is a health care, teaching and research centre dedicated exclusively to children; affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information, please visit www.sickkids.ca. Motherisk is a consultation service for pregnant or lactating women and their health care providers concerning the fetal risks associated with drug, chemical, infection, disease and radiation exposure during pregnancy. For more information, please visit www.motherisk.org.
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