Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growth

Washio, Yukiko, Zhang, Zugui, Baishya, Mona Lisa, Lake, Marilyn T., Myers, Bronwyn, Hoffman, Nadia, Goddard, Elizabeth, Zar, Heather J., Stein, Dan J. and Williams, Petal Petersen (2025) Associations of maternal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use with early child growth. South African Journal of Psychiatry, 31. ISSN 1608-9685

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Abstract

Background: Perinatal alcohol and non-prescribed substance use may be detrimental to foetal and infant growth.  Aim: This observational study investigated how combined and continued alcohol and non-prescribed substance use throughout antenatal and 1-year postnatal periods were associated with adverse child length and weight outcomes up to 24 months.  Setting: Data from participants (n = 1098) with information on alcohol and non-prescribed substance use and infant and child outcomes, were drawn from a prospective birth cohort in the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), conducted in the Western Cape province of South Africa.  Methods: Generalised estimating equations were conducted on standardised child length and weight outcomes at 12, 18 and 24 months.  Results: Non-prescribed substances consisted mostly of tobacco use (77%). Child length and weight were significantly lower in those exposed to the combined use of alcohol and substances compared to no-use and all other use groups (p < 0.001), as confirmed by multivariable analyses. Child length and weight were also significantly lower in those exposed to alcohol and/or substance use throughout the antenatal and 1-year postnatal periods, as confirmed by multivariable analyses.  Conclusion: Interventions to address the potential long-term adverse effects of combined alcohol and substance use particularly tobacco use, as well as continuous use throughout antenatal and early postnatal periods on subsequent child growth, are needed. Contribution: This study has contributed to the field by showing that combined and continued use of alcohol and other substances during pregnancy and postpartum is associated with impaired early child growth.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data availability: De-identified data will be made available from the principal investigator of the DCHS, author H.J.Z., upon reasonable request. Requests for collaborations to undertake data analysis are welcome. More information can be found on the website at http://www.paediatrics.uct.ac.za/scah/dclhs.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	combined alcohol and substance use,early postpartum,infant child length,infant child weight,pregnancy,psychiatry and mental health,sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2738
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	04 Mar 2026 15:30
Last Modified:	17 Mar 2026 01:22
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102174
DOI:	10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v31i0.2486

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