Pubdate: Wed, 28 Mar 2001
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2001 The Sun-Times Co
Contact:  http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Lindsey Tanner

WORRIES ABOUT 'CRACK BABIES' ARE EXAGGERATED

The "crack baby" phenomenon is overblown, according to a study that 
suggests poverty and the use of cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs while 
pregnant are just as likely as cocaine to cause developmental problems in 
children.

Blaming developmental problems on prenatal cocaine use alone has 
stigmatized children, creating an unfounded fear in teachers that "crack 
kids" will be disruptive, according to the study, an analysis of 36 
previous studies.

"I'm not trying to be Pollyannaish and say there are not problems," said 
Dr. Deborah A. Frank, an associate professor of pediatrics at Boston 
University who led the analysis. "I'm saying there are many more serious 
risks to children's development."

The analysis appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

In the meantime, black women and children in Illinois have been 
disproportionately affected by the policy that was shaped by the early 
predictions, according to the latest issue of the Chicago Reporter.

Once tested positive for drug exposure, black babies in Illinois are more 
likely than white babies to be taken from their mothers and placed in 
foster care, the Reporter found.

The perception that crack babies are a unique phenomenon stems from an 
overreaction to research that did not adequately take into account such 
factors as family and mothers' use of other substances while pregnant, the 
researchers said.

Women who use cocaine while pregnant often smoke, drink, take other illegal 
drugs and live in poverty or unhealthy environments.

These factors can explain all or some of the problems once solely blamed on 
cocaine's presumed effects on the fetus, such as low birth weight, small 
head size and low scores on mental development tests, the researchers said.

Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said that 
while researchers believe the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure "are not 
nearly as dramatic as people initially thought," the study should not be 
misinterpreted to suggest that cocaine during pregnancy isn't harmful.

"Most of the effects are thought to be on behavioral characteristics, most 
of which won't be apparent until kids are getting older," Leshner said.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Wendy Chavkin of Columbia University said 
the crack baby "has become a convenient symbol for an aggressive war on 
drug users because of the implication that anyone who is selfish enough to 
irreparably damage a child for the sake of a quick high deserves retribution."
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