LSD: Injection Early in Pregnancy Produces Abnormalities in Offspring of Rats

One of five rats given a single subcutaneous injection of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) early in pregnancy appeared to abort early; two delivered stunted stillborn offspring at term, one delivered a littler of seven healthy and one underdeveloped young, and the last one delivered an apparently normal litter. All five matched controls, given saline injections, went to term and delivered healthy litters of 11 to 16 offspring; there were no abortions and no stillbirths. In a replicate experiment, one of five rats given LSD on the 4th day of gestation aborted, two delivered some stillborn offspring, one gave an abnormally small litter of four, and the last one produced an apparently normal litter of ten. All matched controls delivered healthy litters, totaling 66. Some surviving offspring treated with LSD failed to develop as well as control animals. Treatment of five additional rats with LSD late in pregnancy had no obvious effect on the offspring.