Teen research has concluded that using cocaine during pregnancy has little affect on the child, according to the experts the 1980's "crack baby" scare was blown out of proportion, USA Today reported.
Some studies have linked cocaine use during pregnancy with certain behavioral problems in children such as trouble focusing, anxiety, and decreased school performance. Researchers have claimed that the affects, however, are miniscule and may be caused by other factors such as issues at home.
When crack-cocaine blew up in the 1980's studies suggested that prenatal drug use could cause irreversible brain damage among other things, this led to the 1980's "crack baby" scare.
People began to believe that baby's born to drug-using mother's would often have strange symptoms, such as jitteriness and heads that were too small. The scare was sensationalized by the media, which showed images of tiny baby's hooked up to medical machines.
Current researchers came to their conclusion by reviewing 27 studies that included more than 5,000 children from age 11- 17. The review led by University of Maryland pediatrics was published in the journal Pediatrics. The study looked at mostly low-income, urban African-American families.
"The field of prenatal cocaine exposure has advanced significantly since the misleading "crack baby" scare of the 1980s," the review authors stated.
In the past few years researchers have debunked myths of a link between prenatal cocaine use and physical symptoms in children. They claimed that the "crack baby" symptoms were most likely a result of premature birth rather than drug use.
In some studies teens who had been exposed to crack-cocaine before birth scored lower on developmental tests than other non-exposed children, but their scores were still within a normal range.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse stated that the correlation between prenatal drug use and problems in children is extremely hard to study because there are so many outside factors such as other maternal health problems during pregnancy and family environment.
"Cocaine can disrupt fetal growth and development, but this review tells us that just because a child has been exposed to cocaine, it is not a foregone conclusion that they're going to be in trouble," said Maureen Black, who led the study. "No one is saying cocaine use is good. We need prevention programs so women don't use cocaine in the first place. Children experience serious negative effects from drug exposure in the womb. It looks, though, as if cocaine doesn't work alone. Women who use cocaine are often from poor and dysfunctional families, where children do not receive the care and enrichment they need " Drugfree.org reported.
Black stated that women who use cocaine during pregnancy are also more likely to use other substances that can harm the child, such as alcohol and cigarettes.
