The last decade has seen an increase in the use of illicit drugs and alcohol in the community including an increase in the use of these agents by women in the reproductive age group.
With this in mind, health-care workers need to avoid being complacent in caring for these women – they are a high-risk obstetric population with a significant incidence of medical, obstetric and paediatric complications.
This paper concentrates on the antenatal and intrapartum problems, and outlines their management. An overview of the problem is presented as well as an illustrative case report.
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