The 1990 President's National Drug Controi Strategy Report estimated that 100,000 babies who have been prenatally exposed to cocaine are born each year. Medical research has established risks for both cocaine-using pregnant women and their unborn children. Infants prenatally exposed to cocaine may experience a marked failure to adapt to the neonatal environment, a lack of appropriate interaction with caregivers, and language, cognitive and motor abnormalities that clearly place them at risk. Initial results of follow-up on these infants have suggested that some will suffer long-term educational and behavioral handicaps. Little has been empirically documented concerning the characteristics of children 18 months and older who were exposed to cocaine prenatally. There is an urgent need for study of this group to determine what, if any, long-term effects children prenatally exposed to cocaine may later exhibit. Such information could be vital to a wide range of professionals in health, education, social service, and childcare. Such research must proceed with caution, however, for other interacting explanations of any identified long-term effects must also be considered.
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