Pregnant Indiana women have high rates for drug use

A new training DVD for health care providers could help lower rates of prenatal tobacco, alcohol and drug use, experts say.

The DVD was produced in response to an IU study that found Indiana has one of the highest rates in the nation of pregnant women that smoke, drink alcohol or abuse drugs.

“I think that a lot of physicians are not catching by way of screening women who might be using alcohol or drugs during pregnancy,” said Marsha Glass, a nurse consultant for maternal care at the Indiana State Department of Health. “Most women do get prenatal care at some point during their pregnancy, and we’ve found that sometimes physicians don’t ask the right questions.”

The DVD, produced by a partnership of groups including IU and the ISDH, among others, is aimed at primary caregivers like nurses and physicians.

Glass said the DVD includes instruction on the right questions to ask pregnant women, as well as proper screening techniques for the detection of tobacco, drug or alcohol abuse.

“I think Indiana by and large, in a lot of public health statistics, just has not fared very well in terms of general populations in things like smoking, obesity,” Larry Humbert, Indiana Perinatal Network executive director said.

“I think those kinds of things sort of naturally carry over into the lifestyle and culture in Indiana. Our big focus right now is to get this DVD distributed and to see whether it’s beginning to make a difference,” Humbert said.

Substance use during pregnancy can cause a wide range of problems, including premature birth and birth defects.

Julie Kathman, a clinical nurse specialist for women and children at Bloomington Hospital, said she sees the effects of substance abuse firsthand.

“Babies of mothers who smoke tend to be incredibly fussy because they don’t have nicotine anymore,” Kathman said.“They look like a baby who’s not had their smoke. It’s so sad that they’ve had to go through that, but I don’t really see guilt in the parents,” Kathman said.

Kathman added that babies of mothers who use drugs or alcohol can also have serious complications, including low birth weight, susceptibility to infection and brain development problems, among others.

Humbert said he believes the DVD is a step in the right direction in solving prenatal substance abuse issues.

“Whenever you’re trying to make a change, the first thing is to make sure people are aware of the problem and its significance,” Humbert said. “But once that happens, we hope to begin working with the legislature to get additional funding, and then perhaps in the future create additional training opportunities that go into a little more detail.”