Most of the research into this subject is American. Until recently, it was generally assumed that cocaine was very harmful to babies. In fact, over 200 pregnant women in the States have faced criminal prosecution on these grounds.
However, we now know that the results of many of the studies conducted into the effects of cocaine are muddled, and that most of the problems previously attributed to cocaine are caused by concurrent alcohol abuse, heavy smoking, malnutrition, and the effects of environment and poverty. You may be interested in the recently published results of two research projects.
The first study was reported on in the important American journal Pediatrics in May 2001. The researchers examined 272 babies born to crack/cocaine users, comparing these with babies born to women who did not use cocaine. Although the babies born to the women who used cocaine tended to be smaller and were more likely to be born prematurely, there was no difference between the two groups of babies in the number of abnormalities. In other words, cocaine use in pregnancy doesn’t seem to cause specific congenital abnormalities. Moreover, neither the amount of cocaine used, nor the stage of pregnancy at which it was used, seemed to make any difference.
The second study appeared in another major US medical journal in March 2001. The authors of this paper critically examined and then summarised the results of 36 of the best research studies into the effects of cocaine on children. They concluded that there is no association between cocaine use during pregnancy and later problems with physical growth, childhood development, or language. There may be a link between cocaine use during pregnancy and short attention spans in the early years, but this has not yet been scientifically proved.
It seems that we can now conclude that cocaine use alone does not cause long-term problems in babies. However, this doesn’t mean that the drug is harmless as far as babies are concerned. As mentioned, babies born to mothers who have used cocaine during pregnancy are at increased risk of premature birth, and all the problems that this can bring. Furthermore, newborn babies frequently exposed to cocaine during pregnancy are often irritable and unhappy and difficult to settle. Although these effects are generally temporary, they may spoil the first few weeks with a new baby.
If the mother continues to use cocaine, she will probably be advised not to breastfeed. This is because cocaine passes readily into breastmilk, and the baby may take in a toxic amount. The baby of a mother who uses cocaine will therefore be deprived of breastmilk, with all its amazing health benefits. The baby may also be harmed by the indirect effects of cocaine on the new family, in terms of the mother’s health, family finances, and legal and social difficulties.