Pregnancy and Substance Use

A great deal of medical, governmental and media attention has been given to the use of illicit drugs by pregnant women because of risks to unborn children. The 2002 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) includes information on the past month use of illicit drugs among women aged 15 to 44 who reported that they were pregnant at the time of the interview.

Prevalence of Illicit Drug Use

In 2002, approximately 3 percent of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 years had used an illicit drug in the past month compared with 9 percent of nonpregnant women in this age group. Marijuana was the most widely used illicit drug among pregnant and nonpregnant women.

The rate of illicit drug use was higher among nonpregnant women than among pregnant women, regardless of age, and pregnant women aged 15 to 25 were more likely to use illicit drugs in the past month than pregnant women aged 26 to 44.

Age Differences

The rate of past month illicit drug use among pregnant women was higher for females aged 15 to 25 (7 percent) compared to women aged 26 to 44 (2 percent). These percentages translate to approximately 66,000 pregnant females aged 15 to 25 who were past month illicit drug users compared to 25,000 pregnant women aged 26 to 44. Among females aged 15 to 25, the rate of illicit drug use among those who were pregnant was half of the rate for those who were not pregnant. Among women aged 26 to 44, the rate of illicit drug use among pregnant women was one third of the rate for nonpregnant women.

Racial/Ethnic Differences

Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, approximately 6 percent of blacks, 4 percent of whites, and 2 percent of Hispanics used illicit drugs in the past month (Figure . White and Hispanic women who were pregnant had lower rates of illicit drug use than nonpregnant women of the same age. However, among black women, the rate of past month illicit drug use was not statistically different between those who were pregnant and those who were not pregnant.

Illicit Drug Use AmongNew Mothers

The lower rate of illicit drug use reported during pregnancy continued during the first year after women gave birth. Approximately 5 percent of new mothers (females aged 15 to 44 who had a child younger than 1 year old) reported using an illicit drug in the past month, which was significantly less than the rate for all nonpregnant women. The rate of any illicit drug use was similar between new mothers and currently pregnant women. This same pattern held for past month use of marijuana; the rate among currently pregnant women (3 percent) and new mothers (3 percent) was similar and was half the rate for all nonpregnant females aged 15 to 44 (6 percent). However, for illicit drugs other than marijuana, the rate of past month use was higher for new mothers (3 percent) compared to currently pregnant women (1 percent). The rate for new mothers was also lower than the rate for all nonpregnant women.

© This information is from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration
courtesy of the NHSDA

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