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Were Crack Babies a Myth? What Does
Pediatrics Say About the Effects of Marijuana on a Fetus?
February 4, 1998
Reuters reports
that, according to research which appears in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics,
"Initial reports of permanently damaged "crack babies" may have been
greatly exaggerated, according to pediatric researchers. However, they caution that the
long-term impact of fetal cocaine exposure upon child development still remains largely
unknown. Research involving over 300 newborns led experts at the University of Florida in
Gainesville, to conclude that "we have few data to warrant the alarm that grew out of
earlier reports, often fueled by the media, of the possible devastating effects of
prenatal cocaine-exposure."
But what has Pediatrics reported on the effects of marijuana use on a
fetus? The results may surprise you.
Prenatal marijuana exposure and neonatal
outcomes in Jamaica: an ethnographic study
MC Dreher, K Nugent and R Hudgins
School of Nursing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003.
OBJECTIVE. To identify neurobehavioral effects of prenatal marijuana exposure
on neonates in rural Jamaica. DESIGN. Ethnographic field studies and standardized
neuro-behavior assessments during the neonatal period. SETTING. Rural Jamaica in
heavy-marijuana-using population. PARTICIPANTS. Twenty-four Jamaican neonates exposed to
marijuana prenatally and 20 nonexposed neonates. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS. Exposed
and nonexposed neonates were compared at 3 days and 1 month old, using the Brazelton
Neonatal Assessment Scale, including supplementary items to capture possible subtle
effects. There were no significant differences between exposed and nonexposed neonates on
day 3. At 1 month, the exposed neonates showed better physiological stability and required
less examiner facilitation to reach organized states. The neonates
of heavy-marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of
alertness, irritability, and self- regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for
caregivers. CONCLUSIONS. The absence of any differences between the exposed on
nonexposed groups in the early neonatal period suggest that the better scores of exposed
neonates at 1 month are traceable to the cultural positioning and social and economic
characteristics of mothers using marijuana that select for the use of marijuana but also
promote neonatal development.
Volume 93, Issue 2, pp. 254-260, 02/01/1994
Copyright © 1994 by The American Academy of Pediatrics
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