RESEARCHERS COULDN'T TELL IF BABIES EXPOSED TO COCAINE

Trained research assistants, evaluating children's development, cannot tell
which ones were exposed to cocaine in the womb and which weren't, a new
study has found.

Boston scientists enrolled 163 4-year-olds in the study, and asked
evaluators who were unaware of the children's history to guess whether each
child had been exposed to cocaine.

Although the exposed and unexposed groups scored similarly in developmental
testing, the evaluators were more likely to label children who did worse as
cocaine babies. In all, 74 percent of the children unexposed to cocaine
were labeled exposed, and 37 percent of the exposed children were
classified as unexposed.

Researchers haven't adequately shown that biological and developmental
problems stem from prenatal cocaine exposure, the scientists argue. They
note flaws in earlier studies.

Among poor, urban children, many other things can contribute to behavioral
and developmental problems, the researchers report, including prenatal
alcohol or cigarette exposure.