Prenatal methadone exposure and child developmental outcomes in 2-year-old children.

These children and families are extremely high-risk and need antenatal and postnatal support. Children exposed to opioids during pregnancy have pervasive developmental difficulties by age 2 years. These challenges are largely explained by adverse pregnancy and socio-environmental exposures, emphasizing the importance of specialist prenatal care and postnatal intervention support. What this paper adds Children born to opioid-dependent females are at high risk of pervasive developmental problems. These problems span a range of functional domains, including motor, cognitive, language, and behavioral/emotional dysregulation. Contributing factors include other adverse pregnancy exposures, postnatal environmental factors, and the direct effects of prenatal opioid exposure.