DRUG BABIES 'COMMON' IN VALLEY

There's one difference between Anndreah Robertson and the thousands of
other babies born with drugs in their systems and then sent home with
mothers who passed the drugs on to them: She died.

"I think the natural response is for people to ask, 'How can such a thing
happen?' " said Dr. Chris Carey, chairman of the OB/GYN department at
Maricopa Medical Center. "The thing they should realize is how common it
really is. Babies are born that way every day in the Valley. It is just
unusual for a baby to die."

Most get sent home with their parents. A handful is turned over to Child
Protective Services.

Carey, who has been studying the phenomenon for almost two decades, said
every mother is routinely asked if she has used drugs, but most deny it.

Cocaine users, he said, are found in all socioeconomic classes, making it
impossible to fit them into a single profile. He estimates at least 2
percent of mothers giving birth across the Valley are drug users.

Even if there was a law in place that allowed these babies to be taken
away, the task would be overwhelming.

"You're talking more than a thousand babies a year in the Valley," Carey said.

"We don't have a system in place to take care of every one of them."