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Tobacco and marijuana use during pregnancy by teenagers may affect newborns. Researchers examined the newborns of 310 adolescent mothers aged 12 to 18 years old. Of 70% African Americans and 30% white adolescents, half of all young mothers smoked tobacco before and during pregnancy. About one third of adolescents used marijuana before pregnancy but only 2.9% still did so by the last trimester. Adolescents who smoked tobacco during pregnancy gave birth to smaller babies. Specifically, smoking during the first trimester was associated with a lower birth weight of 202 g per daily cigarette pack. Body length, head circumference, and chest size were similarly diminished. Mothers who used marijuana early in the pregnancy gave birth to infants with slight physical handicaps. Marijuana was also associated with a slight reduction of gestational age at birth. Marijuana habits apparently did not affect infant weight or size., Objective. This longitudinal study examined the effects of tobacco and marijuana use during pregnancy on the gestational age, growth, and morphology of 310 offspring of adolescents. Data were collected during 1990 through 1993. Methodology. The adolescents were drawn from a prenatal clinic in Pittsburgh, PA. They were interviewed at mid-pregnancy and at delivery to obtain information on tobacco, marijuana, and other substance use before and during pregnancy. Infants were examined 24 to 36 hours after birth. Results. The average maternal age was 16.1 (range 12 to 18 years); 70% were African-American. Prenatal tobacco use was associated with reduced birth weight, length, head and chest circumferences, and ponderal index, but not gestational age or the number of morphological abnormalities. Prenatal marijuana exposure was associated with reduced gestational age. Among whites, first trimester marijuana exposure was associated with an increased rate of minor physical anomalies. Prenatal marijuana exposure was not associated with any growth outcomes. Conclusions. These effects of prenatal tobacco and marijuana use were prominent despite lower levels of prenatal exposure in the offspring of adolescent mothers as compared with the offspring of adult mothers from the same clinic. Young maternal age may increase the offspring's risk of negative effects from prenatal tobacco and marijuana exposure. Pediatrics 1995,95:738-743; tobacco, marijuana, pregnancy, adolescent, growth, morphology, gestational age., Twenty-eight percent of high school seniors in the United States used tobacco and 22% used marijuana in 1992.1 Prevalence rates for both substances were higher than in 1991.[1] Teenage pregnancy [...]

Alcohol use during pregnancy can affect the length and weight of the fetus and cause physical deformities. The relationship between alcohol exposure at fixed points during pregnancy and the growth and development of exposed infants up to the eighth month of life was studied. A total of 650 mothers were interviewed at three month intervals during pregnancy and 462 mother-infant pairs were re-examined at the eighth postpartum month. The outcomes of 461 infants are reported. Although the amount of alcohol consumed during the first three months of pregnancy decreased, by the eighth postpartum month, prepregnancy maternal drinking patterns returned. Alcohol consumption during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy was associated with decreases in infant length of 5 and 10 millimeters, respectively. It was estimated that for every alcoholic drink per day during the last three months of pregnancy, there was a 5 millimeter decrease in infant head circumference. Alcohol-exposed infants were smaller at birth and they had a decreased rate of growth during their first eight months. There was an increased risk for fetal alcohol effects and other minor physical abnormalities if alcohol was consumed during any trimester of pregnancy. Although the influence of the infant's environment cannot be ignored, when these factors were adjusted for, the adverse effects of alcohol remained. There was a positive relationship between the use of alcohol during pregnancy and infant feeding patterns; infants who were exposed to alcohol before birth were more difficult to feed during the eight-month study period. These findings demonstrate that fetal alcohol exposure causes lower birth weight, decreased length and head circumference, and a slower rate of growth during the first eight months of life. Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy also increases the risk of minor physical abnormalities. Follow-up examination will indicate whether the diminished growth of these alcohol-exposed infants represents a permanent reduction in growth or a temporary lag in growth. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research studies have described certain specific effects of maternal alcohol consumption on the unborn child. These effects are known as the fetal alcohol syndrome, which may include mental deficiency, insufficient growth, and physical abnormalities of the head, face, and limbs. Not all studies of women who drank during pregnancy have yielded the same results. Alcohol consumption has been implicated as a cause of premature birth and low birth weight in some studies, but not in others. The lack of agreement among research reports may be related to differences in the timing and the number of maternal interviews performed during pregnancy. A longitudinal study of alcohol use in pregnancy was conducted; 650 women were interviewed once during each trimester of pregnancy. The findings linked maternal drinking to abnormal fetal development. The consumption of alcohol in the first two months of pregnancy was associated with low birth weight, smaller head circumference, shorter length, and fetal alcohol effects. Thus, the early part of the first trimester was the time at which alcohol had the greatest impact on the developing baby. This study is one of the few that has compared maternal alcohol consumption in early pregnancy with subsequent fetal abnormalities. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)