STATE AD CAMPAIGN TARGETS DRUG USE DURING PREGNANCY

California first lady Gayle Wilson unveiled tough new TV ads Wednesday
created to discourage pregnant women and new mothers from abusing illegal
drugs and alcohol. The two public service announcements, which will begin
airing in about two weeks, are intended to shock pregnant women who are
addicts or alcoholics into seeking help. In one TV ad, a baby plays with
drug paraphernalia while wishing aloud that its mother would stop using
drugs.

In a second ad, tears roll down the cheeks of a mother at her son's funeral.

A voice-over says: "Weeping won't bring baby John back." Wilson unveiled the
ad campaign before women at Baby Step Inn, a Long Beach rehabilitation
center that helps woman and their babies recover from drug addiction. "Our
goal is to reach out to these pregnant women and their families," Wilson
said. "To try and get them into treatment that can save not only their
lives, but the lives of their babies," The campaign--called "Your Kids Are
What You Are"--is the first in California to target drug addiction during
pregnancy, state officials said. No one is sure how many pregnant women in
California are endangering the health of their children with drugs and
alcohol.

But a 1993 study conducted by UC Berkeley's School of Public Health
estimated that 69,000 infants out of 607,000 born in California during 1992
were delivered to mothers who tested positive for alcohol or drugs
immediately before delivery. State officials estimate that 12,000 women are
enrolled in treatment programs statewide. Patients and alumna of Baby Step
Inn sat cross-legged on the floor with their toddlers for Wilson's
presentation. Some mothers wiped away tears as a baby appeared on the
screen, telling the audience that mommy used to put "bad things inside her."
In the second ad, a man gives a eulogy to baby John, who has died because of
his mother's drug abuse. "From the day he was born and even before, this
young man never had a chance," the man says. "We now know drugs weren't his
choice; he was born that way." Afterward, the women praised the ads. Leslie
Callihan said she found the Long Beach treatment center through a TV
commercial advertising a telephone help line for women on drugs. The new ads
have a more shocking message, she said, which is a good idea. "I think they
would make you really think about what you were doing," she said. "Sometimes
you need to be hit hard." Irma Rueda, a former crack addict who has been
drug-free for more than four years, said the ads really hit home. "The first
time I saw them," she said, "I got the chills." Rueda, 34, raised four
children as an addict.

She said that her older son would occasionally play with her syringes and
other drug instruments, just as the child did in the commercial. When Rueda
learned she was pregnant with her fifth child, she sought treatment. She
believes the ads will encourage others to do the same. "To reach a person on
drugs, [the ads] have to be aggressive," she said. "It's very hard to get to
them when they're high."

Copyright 1998 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved

Checked-by: Don Beck