This meta- analysis showed no significant impairments , at a non-conservative significance level of p < 0.05 , for cognitive , psychomotor or observed behavioural outcomes for chronic intra-uterine exposed infants and pre-school children compared to non-exposed infants and children .
However , all domains suggested a trend to poor outcomes in infants/children of opioid using mothers .
Conclusions Chronic intra-uterine opioid exposed infants and pre-school children experienced no significant impairment in neurobehavioral outcomes when compared to non-exposed peers , although in all domains there was a trend to poorer outcomes .
Background It is assumed within the accumulated literature that children born of pregnant opioid dependent mothers have impaired neurobehavioral function as a consequence of chronic intrauterine opioid use .
The effects of prenatal exposure to buprenorphine or methadone on infant visual evoked potentials.
This study compared the neurological development of 4 month old infants exposed to buprenorphine or methadone during pregnancy to that of a control group of non-exposed infants . Participants were 30 buprenorphine-maintained women , 22 methadone-maintained women and 33 non opioid-dependent controls , and their infants . Women were enrolled during pregnancy as part of an open-label non-r and omised flexible-dosing longitudinal study . Groups were matched for maternal age , parity , gravida , and tobacco and alcohol use . Infant neurological development was assessed by measuring latency of pattern reversal visual evoked potentials ( VEP ) . One-way between groups analyses of variance ( ANOVA ) were conducted to test the statistical significance of differences between the mean latencies of the peak response to two different sized checkerboard patterns ( 48 ' and 69 ' of retinal arc ) . Infants prenatally exposed to methadone had significantly prolonged latencies , compared with infants in the control group and infants prenatally exposed to buprenorphine , in response to checks of 48 ' and 69 ' . VEP latencies of infants prenatally exposed to buprenorphine did not differ significantly from controls for either check size . After adjustment for covariates , prenatal exposure to methadone remained a significant predictor of VEP response to checks of 48 ' , but not 69 ' . Maternal self-reported used of marijuana during pregnancy made a significant unique contribution to the variance in P1 latencies for both check sizes . Data from this controlled , non-r and omised study suggest that buprenorphine may confer an advantage over methadone as a maintenance drug during pregnancy in terms of infant neural development at 4 months of age
This meta- analysis showed no significant impairments , at a non-conservative significance level of p < 0.05 , for cognitive , psychomotor or observed behavioural outcomes for chronic intra-uterine exposed infants and pre-school children compared to non-exposed infants and children .
However , all domains suggested a trend to poor outcomes in infants/children of opioid using mothers .
Conclusions Chronic intra-uterine opioid exposed infants and pre-school children experienced no significant impairment in neurobehavioral outcomes when compared to non-exposed peers , although in all domains there was a trend to poorer outcomes .
Background It is assumed within the accumulated literature that children born of pregnant opioid dependent mothers have impaired neurobehavioral function as a consequence of chronic intrauterine opioid use .