CRYSTAL METH USE AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN 'ALARMING'

An alarming number of pregnant women in Canada are addicted to
crystal meth, say researchers who have found the illicit drug in
wisps of hair from days-old babies.

The infants' hair, analyzed by researchers at Toronto's Hospital for
Sick Children, shows the drug easily crosses the placenta and exposes
fetuses in the womb to the substance.

"This is the first proof it goes from mom to the baby," said Dr.
Gideon Koren, whose team has shown babies are exposed to almost as
much drug as their mothers.

Crystal meth's effect on infants is not yet known, but doctors
suspect fetal exposure may impair their growth and neurological
development. "It is very alarming," Dr. Koren said.

Between 1997 and the end of 2005, hair samples from 8,270 mothers and
babies were tested in the Hospital for Sick Children's Motherisk
laboratory because of "clinical suspicions of maternal drug misuse."
Almost 60% of the samples tested positive for at least one drug, Dr.
Koren and his colleagues report in a study to appear in the upcoming
edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Of the 4,926 positive tests, 396 --or 8% -- found evidence of
methamphetamine, more commonly known as crystal meth. The first six
crystal meth cases date to 2003, followed by a sharp increase to more
than 300 cases in 2005. "Preliminary data from 2006 suggests this
trend has not stopped," say the researchers.

Dr. Koren says the team only had access to hair samples from a small
number of babies, so most of their 396 methamphetamine positives were
from pregnant mothers. But the researchers were able to match samples
from 11 mothers and babies and found the infants' hair contained
almost as much of the drug as their mothers, indicating "extensive"
transfer across the placenta. It also indicates the mothers are
addicted and chronic users of crystal meth, since neonatal hair grows
in the last three months of pregnancy, Dr. Koren says.

Most of the hair samples were from Ontario, B.C. and New Brunswick,
but Dr. Koren believes the problem is common across the country and
growing rapidly. It has been estimated as many as 5% of pregnant
women in North America use crystal meth, which is inexpensive and
often cooked up in basement labs. "We don't know for sure, but 5% is
probably in the ballpark," Dr. Koren says. "It's a big, black cloud."

Dr. Koren is concerned about the children on two levels -- how the
crystal meth affects their growing minds and bodies, and how it
affects their home life.

"Addicted parents have big issues with supplying what kids need," he
said, and he would like to see much more attention and resources
focused on the crystal meth "epidemic."

"We as a society need to ensure these kids are not falling through
the cracks, and hopefully do more for them," he says.

He notes that 90% of the mothers testing positive for crystal meth
also tested positive for alcohol, cocaine or heroin. "They are at
very high risk," he said.

Hair is increasingly used by child-protection services to screen
caregivers for suspected drug use. "Hair does not easily lose drugs
that are trapped in it, and bleaching or straightening by users does
not affect detection," the study says. "The results of hair testing
can yield a quantitative estimate of intensity of use of particular
drugs over defined periods of time."