Amphetamine addiction and pregnancy. Psycho-social and medical aspects.

The psycho-social backgrounds of 69 amphetamine-addicted mothers were investigated in order to find indicators which might be applicable in predicting the addicted women's chances of adaptation to motherhood. Of these 69 women, 17 stopped taking drugs in the first months of gestation when they realized that they were pregnant (Group 1). The remaining 52 women continued taking drugs throughout pregnancy (Group 2). There was no difference between the groups as to number of years of addiction, or other drugs used except that more women in Group 2 abused alcohol at the same time. A large proportion of the women in both Groups 1 and 2 were, as children, known to the local social welfare agencies because of their unsatisfactory home conditions. In Group 2, psychiatric illness and drug abuse were more common among parents and siblings than in Group 1. In spite of this, the women in Group 2 had, on the average, been placed in a foster home at a significantly older age. Significantly more women in Group 2 also had a poorer educational background and a criminal record including more serious crimes. At the time of their current pregnancy the women in Group 1 had a more stable social situation with regard to permanent dwelling, work and relationship with non-addicted friends.