Prenatal drug exposure and child outcome - Past, present, future

This article provides historical context on the study of prenatal drug expo sure and child outcome, traces attention to the issue over time, discusses prevalence approaches and estimates, characterizes studies of prenatal drug exposure and child outcome, and examines research challenges and direction s. Challenges and directions discussed are: determination of drug exposure, with special attention to measuring levels of prenatal exposure and detect ing postnatal passive exposure; assessment of child outcome, including comm ents on neuroimaging; changes in drug use, with comment on current methamph etamine concerns; human subjects issues; and study design and statistical a nalysis considerations. The article also highlights some resources directly relevant to providing services for drug-using pregnant women and their chi ldren.