"Crack Kids": Not Broken

Abstract

Reports in the lay press based on anecdotal evidence have resulted in a rush to judgment about the impact of in utero exposure to illicit drugs, particularly cocaine, on the health, behavior, and development of America's children.¹ Children with a history of prenatal cocaine exposure, labeled "crack kids," are portrayed in the media as inevitably and permanently damaged. An article on Rolling Stone Magazine (October 18, 1990) stated that these babies are "like no others, brain damaged in ways yet unknown, oblivious to any affection." An article in the New York Times reported that "the parents and researchers say a vast majority of children exposed to significant amounts of drugs in the womb appeared to have suffered brain damage that cuts into their ability to make friends, know right from wrong, control their impulses, gain insight, concentrate on tasks, and feel and return love."