Drug info - study refutes "crack baby" myth

[Heretic.Ape.]

http://www.csdp.org/news/news/family.htm#jamareport

[top]Another New Study Refutes "Crack Baby" Myth

"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," according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association on March 28, 2001 ( "Study Challenges The 'Crack Baby' Myth," AP Wire). The study by Deborah A. Frank, MD, and colleagues at the Boston University School of Medicine and the BU School of Public Health, titled "Growth, Development and Behavior in Early Childhood Following Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: A Systematic Review," concludes "Among children aged 6 years or younger, there is no convincing evidence that prenatal cocaine exposure is associated with developmental toxic effects that are different in severity, scope, or kind from the sequelae of multiple other risk factors. Many findings once thought to be specific effects of in utero cocaine exposure are correlated with other factors, including prenatal exposure to tobacco, marijuana, or alcohol, and the quality of the child's environment."

In a commentary published in the same issue, Dr. Wendy Chavkin argues that policy works against the health of women, particularly the poor: "The situation for poor addicted women has not abated as treatment opportunities for them have been further compromised by recent changes in welfare policy. Since passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996, states can exclude individuals with previous drug felony convictions from receiving cash assistance, and attendance at drug treatment programs does not count toward meeting the work requirement on which receipt of cash assistance is now conditioned. Further, drug and alcohol dependence no longer renders one eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), with the resulting loss of such income for approximately 108,000 SSI recipients and 31,000 Disability Insurance recipients as of December 1997."