AN ESTIMATION OF IN UTERO DRUG EXPOSURE BY DETERMINANTS OF FREQUENCY AND DISTRIBUTION OF MATERNAL DRUG CONSUMPTION

Data derived from 1,194 gravidas presenting at the observation unit of a city/county hospital between October 11, 1979 through December 7, 1979 were evaluated with respect to the proportion ingesting drugs during pregnancy. The mean age of the mother at the time of the interview was 22.0 years; 43.0 percent were Black; 34.0 percent Latin-American, 21.0 percent White and 2.0 percent other; mean gravida was 2.5 pregnancies; mean parity was 1.0; and mean number of previous abortions was 0.34. Completed interview data was available for 1,119 gravida, corresponding urinalyses for 997 subjects. Ninety and one-tenth percent (90.1 percent) of the subjects reported ingestion of one or more drug preparation(s) (prescription, OTC, or substances used for recreational purposes) during pregnancy with a range of 0 to 11 substances and a mean of 2.7. Dietary supplements (vitamins and minerals) were most frequently reported followed by non-narcotic analgesics. Seventy-six and one tenth percent (76.1 percent) of the population reported consumption of prescription medication, 42.5 percent reported consumption of over-the-counter medications, 45.7 percent reported consumption of a substance for recreational purposes and 4.3 percent reported illicit consumption of a substance. For selected substances, no measurable difference was found between obtaining the information from the interview method or from a urinalysis assay. ^