Mothers, Drugs, HIV and AIDS

“survival curves also revealed a significantly faster rate of disease progression for infants born to women with a history of IDU [IV drug use]”

“Risk exposures for HIV infection among the mothers of the 6750 [US] children with perinatally acquired AIDS included injecting-drug use (IDU) (41%), sexual contact with a partner with or at risk for HIV/AIDS (34%) [probably IV drug users, with a high probability that the mother is also a drug user, although not necessarily by injection]”

“Postnatal mortality in infants of HIV-infected mothers followed up from birth was increased 15-fold over the general population with a very high incidence (2 in 100) of sudden infant death syndrome apparently unrelated to HIV infection [but]...Intravenous drug use (IVDU) was reported...for 68% of mothers; 46% of them were reported to have used drugs during pregnancy...Neonatal signs of drug withdrawal were seen in 19% of the infants [could this be why their babies were sicker?]”

“Separate analysis of the infants according to maternal risk factors showed that maternal drug addiction was associated with some abnormalities but that the association may be independent of HIV infection. Below-normal height and weight at birth and a higher rate of malformations, notably facial, have been reported in several studies of the infants of drug-addicted mothers, even before the HIV epidemic…The high incidence of unexplained sudden death reported in this study can also be attributed to maternal drug addiction…10 infants had morphological anomalies, including a labiopalatal cleft in 4 cases. 9 of the 10 children were born to drug-addicted mothers”

“Until 1985, the majority of mothers of children with AIDS seen in our clinic acquired their HIV infection through intravenous drug abuse and/or promiscuity. At present being a sexual partner of a male at risk for AIDS is the only risk factor in a large percentage of mothers of our paediatric AIDS patients [and if this men are IV drug users, it's quite likely that the women are non-IV drug users, e.g. of crack cocaine]…an AIDS embryopathy [malformed fetus] has been observed. The characteristic features…are microcephaly [small head] and a group of craniofacial dysmorphic [malformed skull and face] features including frontal bossing [swelling], hypertelorism [eyes abnormally far apart], flattened nasal bridge, obliquity of the eyes, blue sclerae and patulous [spreading] lips [incredibly there is no consideration that these features might be due to maternal drug abuse].”

“We have studied 27 children aged 1 day to 42 months and at risk for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Except 1 who had been transfused, all had drug-addict mothers”