The Growth in Weight and Height of Infants Whose Mothers Used Cocaine and / or Crack During the Gestational Period: Integrative Review

Abstract

Objective: To synthesize studies on the weight and height growth of infants (from 0 to 1 year old) whose mothers used cocaine and / or crack during the gestational period.

Method: This is an integrative review that searched for articles with measures of weight, height and / or head circumference, up to the first year of life, in Scopus, Cinahl, Embase, Web of Science, PsycNET and Pubmed and BVS portals.

Results: In the initial search, 567 studies, organized by the EndNote® platform, were identified. At the end of reading the materials were included seven studies, published between the years 1992 and 2011, in all of the United States. Exposed infants have lower values in growth measures when compared to the control group, which is more expressive at birth. Over the months, there was approximation in the values between the groups. The pattern of substance use was described in one study only, a factor that directly implies data analysis.

Conclusion: According to the literature, the use of cocaine and / or crack during gestation period provides lower weight and height growth outcomes when compared to unexposed, with catch-up occurring between the sixth and twelfth month of life.