‘Ice’ babies show
signs of language
impairmentPrenatal exposure to
crystal meth affects
about 4% of isle infants
An estimated 550 to 600 babies are born in Hawaii each year to mothers who used crystal methamphetamine during their pregnancies, according to experts.
Researchers, who are studying the effects of "ice" on these babies, say the children show "soft signs" of developmental and language impairment that seem to grow more pronounced as the children reach school age and beyond.
"Initially when you look at these babies, you don't see the gross malformations or problems that you see, say, with fetal alcohol syndrome. But we are finding there are more subtle things that may prove very significant," said researcher Dr. Maria Iliana Stark, who works for Kaiser Permanente Hawaii and is on the faculty of the University of Hawaii School of Nursing & Dental Hygiene.
Stark said in a "conservative estimate" that about 4 percent of the babies born in Hawaii each year show signs of prenatal exposure to ice.
As infants they show increased difficulty eating and digesting food, irritability and an inability to regulate their own temperature, said Stark. As they grow older, Stark says, they show behavioral problems and delays in language development that are likely to affect learning and social behavior.
"They just don't develop along with the normal milestones," said Stark.
Stark and Dr. Dana Davidson, a professor in the Family Resource program at UH, were scheduled to discuss the impact of ice on the development of infants and toddlers at a presentation today sponsored by the Good Beginnings Alliance Oahu Council and Ho'owaiwai na Kamali'i at the Central Union Church Parish Hall.
Stark and others acknowledge ice alone may not be the cause of developmental problems.
A mother who uses ice might not be able to give the kind of parenting that would stimulate child development. Davidson said these children might also be malnourished, neglected and abused.
As a graduate student, Stark studied 211 babies exposed to ice and tracked as many as she could from 1992 to 1999, comparing their development with a group that was not exposed to ice. In her comparisons, she tried to account for maternal factors such as education and socioeconomic status.
Stark said it is difficult to isolate the effects of ice exposure from other factors that can contribute to developmental problems. For example, Stark found that 65 percent of the exposed children received little or no prenatal care.
Stark also found that many children exposed to ice were born prematurely, required longer hospital stays, and were more likely to be admitted to intensive care units than unexposed babies.
"These babies can be difficult to care for, which can be an added challenge to a mother using drugs," said Stark.
Stark said other drugs may also contribute. Researchers and treatment providers find that many ice users mix ice with other drugs and alcohol.
"Ice is a drug that is unlike any other," said Davidson. "It is a powerful, man-made drug originally designed to treat narcolepsy. It is a horrible key that crosses the blood-brain barrier in seconds and unlocks the cell membranes, and it (also) crosses the placenta barrier so it affects the fetus the same as the mother" during a key time of brain development.
Davidson, who is studying ways to treat these children, said "prevention is the best and cheapest way."
