Psychiatric profiles of mothers who take EcstasyMDMA during pregnancy reduced depression 1 year after giving birth and quitting Ecstasy.
The recreational drug MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or Ecstasy is associated with heightened psychiatric distress and feelings of depression. The Drugs and Infancy Study (DAISY) monitored the psychiatric symptom profiles of mothers who used EcstasyMDMA while pregnant, and followed them over the first year post-partum. We compared 28 young women whom took MDMA during their pregnancy with a polydrug control group of 68 women who took other psychoactive drugs while pregnant. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) was completed for several periods The first trimester of pregnancy and 1, 4 and 12 months after childbirth. Recreational drug use was monitored at each time point. During the first trimester of pregnancy, MDMA-using mothers reported higher depression scores than the polydrug controls. At 1 year after childbirth, their BSI depression scores were significantly lower, now closer to the control group values. At the same time point, their self-reported use of MDMA became nearly zero, in contrast to their continued use of Cannabismarijuana, nicotine and alcohol. We found significant symptom reductions in those with BSI obsessive-compulsive and interpersonal sensitivity, following EcstasyMDMA cessation. The findings from this unique prospective study of young recreational drug-using mothers are consistent with previous reports of improved psychiatric health after quitting MDMA.