Publication: Alcohol, Drugs and Medication in Pregnancy, the Outcome for the Child

Preece_RileyThe use of alcohol and drugs in pregnancy is known to affect the developing foetus and can cause long-term difficulties. Many of these children will need long-term substitute care

According to the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library, "About 90 per cent of pregnant women take prescription or non-prescription (over-the-counter) drugs or use social drugs (such as tobacco and alcohol) or illicit drugs at some time during pregnancy." In the US alone, around 5% of all pregnancies involve illicit substance abuse and illicit drugs complicate 4% of pregnancies.

The true extent of drug taking during pregnancy is largely unknown but the British Association of Perinatal Medicine estimates that one in 500 newborn babies suffers from drug withdrawal symptoms and at least 7,000 children are born in Britain each year with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).

Edited by Philip M. Preece and Edward P. Riley.

Published by Mac Keith PressĀ 

Visit: http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1898683883.html

Alcohol, Drugs and Medication in Pregnancy documents the outcome and consequences for children exposed to intrauterine drugs, alcohol and medicines. In setting out the evidence for these outcomes, the authors demonstrate that decisions about future care and management can and should be made early, with a secure understanding of the effect of this early exposure.

ISBN: 978-1-898683-88-9

The international team of contributors sets out to inform the reader of the potential risks to infants exposed to a range of intrauterine chemicals that are potentially neuroactive, including medicinal drugs such as antiepileptics, antidepressants and antipsychotics, as well as drugs of abuse, including alcohol, opiates, and recreational drugs such as cannabis and tobacco. They review the teratogenic action of some of the chemical processes and the relationship of exposure to the stage of pregnancy. Some agents alter anatomic structure whilst others impact the chemical balance of neurotransmitters and may thus alter the regulation of brain function, with profound effects on the child's behaviour and propensity to behavioural disturbances. The book explores strategies to support these children and those who care for them.

Alcohol, Drugs and Medication in Pregnancy aims to present professionals with the information necessary to provide protective management and prevent the delays in intervention and decision-making that have so often been seen in this area of medical and social care.

List of chapters:

1. INTRODUCTION (Philip M Preece).

2. EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE DURING PREGNANCY (Ron Gray).

3. NORMAL AND ABNORMAL EMBRYOGENESIS OF THE MAMMALIAN BRAIN (Kathy K Sulik, Shonagh K O'Leary-Moore, Elizabeth A Godin and Scott E Parnell).

4. EPILEPSY IN PREGNANCY AND THE EFFECT OF PRENATAL ANTIEPILEPTIC MEDICATION (Jill Clayton-Smith and Gus Baker).

5. NEURODEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN EXPOSED TO ANTIDEPRESSANT AND ANTIPSYCHOTIC MEDICATIONS DURING PREGNANCY (Irene Nulman, Sara Citron, Michelle Todorow and Elizabeth Uleryk).

6. DIAGNOSIS OF FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME: EMPHASIS ON EARLY DETECTION (Margaret Barrow and Edward P Riley).

7. THE EFFECTS OF PRENATAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE ON BRAIN AND BEHAVIOUR (Christie L McGee Petrenko and Edward P Riley).

8. EFFECT OF DRUGS OF ABUSE ON THE FETUS: COCAINE AND OPIATES INCLUDING HEROIN (Lynn T Singer and Sonia Minnes).

9. CANNABIS USE DURING PREGNANCY: ITS EFFECTS ON OFFSPRING FROM BIRTH TO YOUNG ADULTHOOD (Peter A Fried).

10. IN UTERO EXPOSURE TO THE POPULAR 'RECREATIONAL' DRUGS MDMA (ECSTASY) AND METHAMPHETAMINE (ICE, CRYSTAL): PRELIMINARY FINDINGS (Derek G Moore, John J D Turner, Julia E Goodwin, Sarah E Fulton, Lynn T Singer and Andrew C Parrott).

11. THE SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF MATERNAL SMOKING DURING PREGNANCY (Kate E Pickett and Lauren S Wakschlag).

12. MANAGEMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF PRENATAL DRUGS IN CHILDREN OF DRUG-ABUSING PARENTS (Faye Macrory and Michael Murphy).

13. PRENATAL AND POSTNATAL INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR ALCOHOL-ABUSING MOTHERS IN PREGNANCY (Ann P Streissguth and Therese M Grant).

14. COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL INTERVENTIONS TO AMELIORATE THE EFFECTS OF FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: PROMOTING POSITIVE OUTCOMES (Wendy O Kalberg and Julie Gelo).

15. FETAL TERATOGEN SYNDROMES: PSYCHIATRIC ASPECTS AND MANAGEMENT (David J Bramble and Raja A S Mukherjee).

16. RECOMMENDED MANAGEMENT OF COMMON MEDICAL PROBLEMS IN PREGNANCY: ADVICE FROM SPECIALIST AGENCIES (Evelyne Jacqz-Aigrain and Philip M Preece).