Cocaine use is highly likely to cause irreparable damage in newborns whose mothers kept their addiction during pregnancy.
The latter led to some states in the United States requiring pregnant addicts to treatment be forced deprivation of liberty for the duration of pregnancy.
Yet known the full extent of the effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine, but scientific studies indicate that these babies are born prematurely and underdeveloped: less weight, lower skull diameter and shorter length.
The precise determination of the consequences for the newborn is complex and varies according to the drug that was consumed by the mother.
Added to that, we know statistically that mothers addicted to cocaine abuse in one or more other substances. The picture is complicated when considering the amount and variety of drugs of abuse, lack of prenatal care, socioeconomic status, exposure to infectious diseases, other health problems, poor nutrition, and many other factors involved directly on the health of the fetus and newborn.
