Please click on the following link and read the NY Times article – "The (Drug
Epidemic That Wasn't" featuring opinions and quotes from renowned USA physician
experts in the field. Based on statistics and research, there is no reason to
be scared or to suspect that a baby born to a mother who uses crack or cocaine
(or a variety of other illegal substances) recreationally will not be healthy
due to the drug exposure in utero. Alcohol abuse remains the biggest proven
threat with FAE and FAS.

In 20 years of facilitating adoptions, hundreds of babies whose mothers used
illegal substances during pregnancy have reportedly developed fine with no
evidence of physical or mental abnormalities that could be attributed to the
drug exposure while in utero.

You may call Dr. John Fagan at 909-982-7741 in southern California. He and his
wife adopted children and two of them were exposed to methamphetamines during
pregnancy. He will speak to you as an adoptive parent and a physician. Please
tell him that Lil Snee referred you to him.

Here's more information from an adoptive parent with an MBA/PhD in
Neuroscience...

Hi Lil,

My sense is that the risks likely increases with the amount used, and with use
later in pregnancy, but that there are no data to define a "safe" cut-off.
Plus, the neurobehavioral studies are too few and with too short follow-up to
know the real risks. As we found out, there may not even be too many terrible
long-term consequences to even heavy use. The best people I heard from seemed
to feel that a nurturing home might overcome most potential problems, with the
caveat that too little is known to say for sure. I would think that occasional
use would have a lower chance of withdrawal symptoms, which seemed to be one of
the most agreed upon consequences of prenatal exposure. Still, I'd always have
some healthy suspicion of a report of "occasional" use, but you probably know
that already. I hope this helps you!

Also, here is some correspondence that we had with another professional:

Given the current paucity of information on the developmental and behavioral
sequelae of prenatal meth exposure, I forwarded your letter to Dr. Barry Lester
of Brown U to get his response. As you may know, he is one of the few persons
conducting a prospective follow-up study on this topic. I'll paste in his
response here (in quotes, below) (parentheses mine). I've also attached two
articles he forwarded me on this topic.

His response: "Here is what we know - as you say very little. What I usually
tell people is (to) get as much as you can of the baby's medical records; (it's
a better sign) if baby goes to term and is not SGA (small for gestational age)
and (has) no medical problems, (then) I usually suggest the NNNS exam (a newborn
neurobehavioral assessment), (and) if that checks out, take the kid and love
him/her and know that what the parents do probably makes more of a difference
than the drug - but that is no guarantee." (Dr. Barry Lester of Brown
University)

I generally agree with what he said, especially that there no guarantees about
child outcomes. Outcomes can vary whether or not the baby is healthy and term
at delivery, or whether the child is your own biological child or adopted. As
I'm sure you know, the genetic/biologic and environmental risk and protective
factors affecting children's development are numerous and complex. I also agree
with Barry that the quality of parenting a child receives postnatally (i.e.,
consistent, responsive care, emotional availability, and so on) is very
important--and possibly more so than the prenatal drug exposure, in and of
itself. But once again this is a complex issue, and there are no guarantees.
For your interest, I've attached a good review article on the subject written
for pediatricians.

Hope this helps! I know this isn't an easy decision. There is a lot to
consider. Good luck to you!

Mark, adoptive parent


Next, Dr. Barry Lester is one of the top researchers on the subject of maternal
methamphetamines use during pregnancy and child outcome

Barry Lester, Ph.D.
Women and Infants Hospital, Infant Development Center
79 Plain Street, 2nd Floor
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 453-7640 Phone
(401) 453-7646 Fax
Email: Barry_Lester@...