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."