CHICAGO (AP) — The first study to look at methamphetamine’s potential lasting effects on children whose mothers used it in pregnancy finds these kids at higher risk for behavior problems than other children.
The behavior differences — anxiety, depression, moodiness — weren’t huge, but lead researcher Linda LaGasse called them “very worrisome.”
Methamphetamine is a stimulant like crack cocaine, and earlier research showed meth babies have similarities to so-called “crack babies” — smaller in size and prone to drowsiness and stress. Results in long-term studies conflict on whether children of cocaine-using mothers have lasting behavior problems.
The study was published online Monday in Pediatrics.
