The effect of chronic cocaine exposure during pregnancy on maternal and infant outcomes in the rhesus monkey

To explore the effects of gestational cocaine exposure in a nonhuman primate model, pregnant rhesus monkeys were treated from about 1 month of gestation until term with either 0 (N = 3), 0.3 (N = 3), 1.0 (N = 3), or escalating doses up to 8.5 (N = 3) mg/kg (IM), three times per day, 5 consecutive days per week. Despite these differences in cocaine exposure, the experimental groups did not differ significantly with respect to maternal outcome, as measured by body weight gain during pregnancy and length of pregnancy. A clear dose-response relationship was observed between the cumulative dose of cocaine administered during gestation and the levels of both cocaine and its major metabolite, benzoylecgonine, in samples of infant hair taken at birth. However, the experimental groups did not differ significantly with respect to infant outcome, as measured at birth by body weight, overall length, crown-to-rump length, rump-to-heel length, biparietal diameter, and crown circumference. Furthermore, the experimental groups did not differ significantly with respect to the integrity of a variety of infant reflexes tested at birth. It was concluded that, in a rhesus monkey model, chronic cocaine exposure during pregnancy had no significant effect on maternal and infant outcomes as assessed in this investigation.