Community-wide estimation of illicit drug use in delivering women: Prevalence, demographics, and associated risk factors

Objective: To determine the community-wide prevalence of illicit drug use in delivering women and to compare rates in women delivering in an urban center serving the medically indigent with those delivering in private hospitals. Methods: Over 6 weeks, 1062 urine samples were obtained anonymously from women presenting for delivery in seven hospitals in the Jacksonville, Florida area. All urine samples were analyzed blindly for illicit drugs using fluorescent polarized immunoassay. Results: The percentage of women with positive urine toxicology was 7.1%. Positive results were more frequent in the public hospital population (12.7%) than the private hospital population (3.9%). The prevalence of cocaine use was 2.1% and marijuana 5.3%