Drug tests on mothers’ hair links recreational drug use to birth defects

Drug tests on 517 mothers in English inner city hospitals found that nearly 15% had taken recreational drugs during pregnancy and that mothers of babies with birth defects of the brain were significantly more likely to have taken drugs than mothers with normal babies. The study found no significant links between recreational drug use and any other type of birth defect. The study was led by a team of UCL researchers co-ordinating data collection from hospitals across London, Bristol and Birmingham and the results are published in the journal PLOS ONE. The study included 213 women whose baby had a type of birth defect with potential links to recreational drug use, 143 women whose baby had a birth defect with no previously reported links to drug use and 161 women whose baby was normally formed. 77 (14.9%) of the women who agreed to take part tested positive for at least one type of recreational drug, of whom 10 had taken more than one drug. 68 women tested positive for cannabis, 18 for cocaine, 1 for ketamine and 1 for MDMA. Drug use was highest around conception and reduced as the pregnancy progressed, but around half of the women who smoked cannabis continued to do so throughout the second trimester.