Lower Birth Weight of Offspring Born After Self-Poisoning of Parent

Birth weight was evaluated in 777 & 217 livebirths, respectively, of index females & female partners of index males born before & after severe self-poisoning with drugs. Birth weight was also evaluated in matched controls. Babies born to index females months or years after an attempted self-poisoning were found to have a lower birth weight. A similar trend was observed among female partners of index males. No significant differences were noted between index cases & matched controls. (14 refs.)