"Crack Babies" of 1980s Healthier Now Than Predicted

The overall health of so-called "crack babies," infants born to mothers addicted to smokable crack cocaine, ended up less problematic than feared, new research has found.

Back in the 1980s, the proliferation of the less-expensive crack led to heightened public concern --- fanned by an onslaught of media pieces --- that "crack babies" would suffer physically and developmentally, suffering the ravages of prenatal cocaine exposure, or, PCE.

Now, as those same babies have reached their later 20s and early 30s, recent analysis suggests their behavior, cognition/school performance, brain structure/function and physiological outcomes were affected minimally by of their mothers' drug use --- and much by their prevailing economic conditions, continued drug use in their families and exposure to violence.

The study, published today in the journal Pediatrics, also noted the children's often-distressing symptoms at birth, largely attributed to premature delivery, didn't lead to lasting damage, according to a report published by United Press International .

Researchers from the University of Maryland reviewed 27 studies representing nine groups that included more than 5,000 children born to mothers who used crack cocaine during pregnancy.

The study concluded that "it is now well documented that scientific reports in the 1980s were exaggerated and incorrect in their portrayal of children exposed to cocaine in utero as irreparably damaged."

As well, PCE babies didn't grow up more likely to become crack users, as many had suspected.

Crack was cheap and readily available in cities throughout the 80s, with disproportionate use of the drug in African American communities

It was determined crack contributed to an estimated 10 percent uptick in crime from about 1979 through 1991.

During that period, tales were common about women who used crack or cocaine during pregnancy and then lost custody of their children and faced possible jail time.

Experts eventually discovered exposure to alcohol and tobacco in the womb actually has more significant long-term health effects on a child than does PCE.