Home > BUMPS: Best use of medicines in pregnancy - Mephedrone.

UK Teratology Information Service. (2016) BUMPS: Best use of medicines in pregnancy - Mephedrone. London: UK Teratology Information Service.

External website: https://www.medicinesinpregnancy.org/Medicine--pre...

This factsheet has been written for members of the public by the UK Teratology Information Service (UKTIS). UKTIS is a not-for-profit organisation funded by Public Health England on behalf of UK Health Departments. UKTIS has been providing scientific information to health care providers since 1983 on the effects that medicines, recreational drugs and chemicals may have on the developing baby during pregnancy.

Mephedrone (also known as M-CAT, White Magic, Meow Meow) is a stimulant that is used recreationally and causes changes in mood and behaviour.

Use of mephedrone in pregnancy is not advised. When a pregnant woman uses mephedrone it enters her bloodstream and crosses the placenta to the baby. The effects on a developing baby from mephedrone exposure are unclear as very few pregnant women who use mephedrone have been studied. However, mephedrone is related to a class of drugs called amphetamines. Use of amphetamines in pregnancy has been linked to a number of adverse pregnancy outcomes (see below). There is a theoretical risk that exposure to mephedrone in the womb may cause similar effects and that it may result in long-lasting changes in a baby’s brain.


Item Type
FactSheet
Publication Type
International, Guideline
Drug Type
New psychoactive substance
Intervention Type
Harm reduction
Date
November 2016
Publisher
UK Teratology Information Service
Corporate Creators
UK Teratology Information Service
Place of Publication
London
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