Racial Disparities In Newborn Drug Testing Exist: Michigan Researchers Unveil Troubling Data

Substance use during pregnancy and motherhood is both a public health and criminal justice issue. While toxicology screens have become a part of a routine newborn physical assessment, a new study has revealed that specific racial disparities exist regarding who gets tested.

But, first things first: why are newborns drug tested?

Short- and long-term adverse effects encountered by newborns exposed to different substances can result in neonatal defects, including acute toxicity or sustained signs with lasting drug effects, to name a few.

According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC), alcohol, for example, could cause miscarriage, stillbirth and preterm labor, as well as a myriad of lifelong congenital and developmental disabilities. Other commonly used substances in pregnancy that pose health risks to unborn babies include nicotine, cocaine and cannabis.

To that end, healthcare professionals and social workers report all cases of newborns testing positive for a particular drug to Child Protective Services. However, according to the investigation by residents, faculty, medical students and researchers at Michigan Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine and Antiracism and Health Equity Program, rates of newborn drug testing vary according to the race and ethnicity of birth parents. The research team examined whether newborn drug testing patterns changed following the legalization of recreational cannabis in Michigan in 2018.

The Findings

Published in JAMA Network Open, the findings build on prior research that determined that Black newborns are screened for prenatal drug exposure at higher rates than other racial and ethnic groups.

Researchers, which analyzed data from 26,366 births between 2014-2020 at the University of Michigan Health, identified racial inequalities in which newborns underwent a toxicology screen. THC was the most common substance found.

“In the absence of a newborn drug screening policy, we saw inconsistencies in how and when clinicians ordered drug tests for newborns at low risk of prenatal drug exposure,” said senior author Lauren Oshman, M.D. M.P.H, associate professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.“We measured drug testing rates before and after cannabis legalization to see if the change in law improved or worsened these inequities and found it didn’t appear to make any difference.”

The study also revealed that babies born to white parents were 24% less likely to get a drug test than those in Black families. Interestingly, white families were more likely to test positive for opioids.

Pregnancy And Marijuana

While researchers agree on the negative outcome of cocaine, alcohol and nicotine use during pregnancy, when it comes to cannabis, opinions are divided. More pregnant women are using cannabis to relieve unpleasant symptoms such as nausea, pain and morning sickness. Researchers from the University of California, LA and Oregon’s Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation, provided proof that cannabis actually works better than prescription drugs when it comes to treating Hyperemesis Gravidarum or pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting. At the same time, other studies have examined the connection between cannabis use during pregnancy with autism, childhood psychosis, anxiety, aggression and hyperactivity in children.

For now, it’s clear that researchers will continue to face the conundrum of trying to prove both the health benefits and risks of marijuana.

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