PRENATAL COCAINE EXPOSURE - EFFECTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL-AGE-CHILDREN

The offspring of 28 women who reported light to moderate cocaine use d uring pregnancy were compared with those of 523 women who reported no cocaine use during pregnancy and none for the year prior to pregnancy. Subjects were participants in two prospective, longitudinal studies o f prenatal substance use. Women were interviewed during their fourth a nd seventh months of pregnancy, at delivery, and at 8, 18, 36, and 72 months postpartum regarding cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and other drug use. At 6 years, children underwent physical examination, a nd their cognitive development, academic achievement, and behavior wer e assessed. The women in the cocaine group were more likely to be Cauc asian and to use more alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and other illicit d rugs than those in the comparison group. When demographic and substanc e use differences between the groups were controlled, there were no si gnificant effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on the growth, intellec tual ability, academic achievement, or teacher-rated classroom behavio r of the 6-year-old offspring. Children prenatally exposed to cocaine did show deficits in their ability to sustain attention on a computeri zed vigilance task. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science, Inc.