Drugs During Pregnancy

Exposure to illicit and non-illicit drugs during pregnancy is a significant issue in the United States. Each year, approximately 757,000 pregnant women use alcohol and 820,000 smoke cigarettes. It is estimated that 221,000 pregnant women use illegal drugs at least once during their pregnancy and 1 in 5 of these women smoke crack cocaine. Additionally, 32 percent of women who use at least one illegal drug while pregnant also use both alcohol and cigarettes. Overall, 1 million children each year are estimated to have exposure to either illegal or legal drugs during gestation (Harvey 1998). During the 1980’s and 1990’s, increased public attention and social stigmatization was brought upon women who used illicit drugs while pregnant. Historically,
Media stories in the late 1980’s therefore provided extremely negative portrayals of children exposed to cocaine in utero. Coining the term “crack babies,” the media suggested that all babies exposed to crack cocaine prenatally would face severe and permanent disability in their lifetime (Harvey 1998). The re-evaluation of the various myths and stigmas associated with prenatal crack cocaine use, however, have led to much different conclusions than media portrayals in the 1980’s and 1990’s led people to believe (Barone 1994). Though it was believed and largely publicized in the 1980’s that children exposed to cocaine in utero are predisposed to a life of physical and mental disability, research conducted has determined that the crack baby epidemic is in fact a hyperbolized myth. Furthermore, the crack baby myth itself stems from historic societal tendencies to target drug-using mothers, which has led to legislative action being taken against female addicts in the
Additionally, some states have put in place civil commitment for women who use drugs while pregnant, which includes the forced admission of women into an inpatient treatment program. Various states also now require medical professionals to report or test for prenatal drug use, which can later be used as evidence in child-welfare accounts. Moreover, some states have been working on making drug treatment more available for pregnant women, which is supported by federal funds that require that pregnant women obtain priority access to these programs (Guttmacher Institute 2016). In regard to those that still believe cocaine use specifically has a negative impact on maternal behavior, controversial charities such as Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity (C.R.A.C.K) have raised money to give mothers with a history of illicit drug use financial incentives to accept sterilization procedures. (Frank