Crack Babies?

Someone off-handedly mentioned on the midwives list that so-called "crack babies" are really mis-named. While crack is certainly not the thing to do, medical research says that it isn't any worse than alcohol or tobacco. There are a number of articles, like this one that can be found from Google.
The reason this came up is because there is a family in Indiana whose baby died when he was 10 days old, after being born at home. I don't know any of the details, other than one forwarded email from the mom, who was very worried about money, since the parents are being investigated, and their lawyer has already blown through their retainer.
There isn't any question of drugs in this case, but the crack babies were mentioned in a reference to National Advocates for Pregnant Women, because they might be interested in helping out, or at least would be able to provide some guidance on how to proceed.
Posted by Jon Daley on September 30, 2004, 1:34 am | Read 8240 times
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A few years ago, a teacher at our local elementary school told me that life at the school had become much more difficult since we were there. "For one thing," she said, "we are starting to get the crack babies." No one can deny her experience with increasing numbers of children who were hyperactive, uncontrollable, undisciplined, and unable to concentrate. However, I have read since that this phenomonenon is most likely due, not to the drug's physical effect on the child, but to the general environment in which he is being raised. It's still a problem, and it's still a drug problem, but the key is the parents, not the child. I can't agree with the idea that crack isn't any worse than alcohol or tobacco. Certainly neither of those is good for developing babies, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome I believe is well documented. In people prone to alcoholism, alcohol can destroy lives and parenting skills as effectively as anything. But unless everything I've learned about the addictive effects of cocaine, particularly crack, is wrong -- not to mention the personal experiences of a friend who is raising her own "crack grand-baby" -- crack has a much more devastating effect on family life. Being of a generation where moderate alcohol and tobacco use were extremely common, including throughout pregnancy, I don't see that it did the kind of harm that drug use is doing to this generation.
Posted by SursumCorda on September 30, 2004, 7:21 am
Okay, you managed to separate your post into paragraphs. How come mine got all smushed together? Do I have to use HTML in my comments to make it work?
Posted by SursumCorda on September 30, 2004, 7:23 am
Yes.
You
have to use <br/>
Posted by jondaley on September 30, 2004, 10:10 am
Certainly the environmental effects have a lot to do with it. It seems hard to find research that says the whole crack baby thing is not a myth.
I guess I don't really care all that much, don't have to worry about that for myself. (:
Posted by jondaley on October 4, 2004, 5:12 pm
what happensto the mother
Posted by sasha ball on February 15, 2005, 6:24 pm
I never heard anything after that first contact. I don't know the mom personally, heard about her through a midwifery newsgroup.
Posted by jondaley on February 15, 2005, 7:13 pm
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