Substance and alcohol use in pregnant women attending antenatal care at a tertiary hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Background: Substance and alcohol use during pregnancy confers significant risk to the mother and foetus. Substance and alcohol use is common in South African general population. However, there is a paucity of literature on the extent of the problem among pregnant women.

Aim: This study assessed the prevalence of substance use and its predictors among pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) at a tertiary hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Setting: This study was conducted at Rahima Moosa hospital, Johannesburg.

Methods: This study was a retrospective record review of 399 consecutively selected pregnant women attending ANC. Socio-demographic, clinical, and substance use data were extracted and analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses.

Results: Most pregnant women (84%) were aged between 20 years and 40 years. Substance use was documented in 45% (N = 178) of the records. Of these, concurrent use of alcohol and tobacco was 63% (n = 113). Factors that predicted the use of substances in pregnancy were low birth weight (aOR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.23, 5.16, p = 0.01) and a positive HIV status (aOR = 0.6. 95% CI = 0.35, 0.96, p = 0.04).

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of substance use among pregnant women in the context of this study.

Contribution: The increased risk of contracting HIV and having babies with low birth weights when substances are used in pregnancy highlights the need for appropriate behaviour modification for these women during antenatal care and this is in line with the health belief model.