COCAINE HARM TO FETUS IS LESS THAN EXPECTED

WASHINGTON - Babies whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy do not
become hopelessly brain-damaged as researchers had once thought, but
instead experience more subtle problems, a study reported yesterday.
In the early 1980s, studies suggested that these children suffered
severe, debilitating brain damage.

New research, however, has found that they are more likely to suffer
from slowed language development and an IQ decrease of 3.26 points on
average, said Barry Lester, a psychologist at the Brown University
School of Medicine, who led the study.

''The myth of the brain-damaged baby has been defused,'' Lester said.
''What we are seeing is more subtle effects.'' The average IQ is about
100 points.

Various studies have estimated that anywhere from 45,000 to 375,000
babies exposed to cocaine in the womb are born in the United States
each year. Although the effects are not as grave as originally
believed, damage from cocaine causes as many as 80,550 of these
children to fall behind in school each year. The decline in IQ of a
few points, while seemingly insignificant, can make a major difference
in children with below-normal intelligence because it can push them
into the range where they suffer learning disabilities or retardation,
Lester said.

Lester's team analyzed information on more than 800 school-age
children taken from a number of studies. Using a technique called
meta-analysis, the researchers pooled the data into one study to
refine estimates of the effects of cocaine exposure on unborn babies.

Writing in the journal Science, Lester said continued funding of drug
prevention efforts and additional studies were some ways to address
the problem. Most children exposed to cocaine in the womb are likely
to come from low-income families and already face other influences,
such as malnutrition, that depress IQ scores, Lester added. This makes
the IQ drop from cocaine double jeopardy for children growing up in
poverty.

''The issue here is three IQ points for [most people] isn't much, but
for kids growing up in poverty it can mean a lot,'' Lester said. ''You
won't find many cocaine exposed kids in middle-class homes,'' he
added. Babies who have been exposed can be helped. ''These are kids
who can definitely benefit from special education services,'' Lester
added in a telephone interview. ''It's not the case where we need to
throw away a couple generations of kids.''

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady