Cocaine: a neonatal perspective.

W R Sexson

doi:10.3109/10826089309039650

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PubMed · 8500922

Cocaine: a neonatal perspective.

W R Sexson

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Abstract

This paper focuses on cocaine misuse as it impacts on neonates born at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. The majority of infants of cocaine-using mothers (ICAM) appear clinically normal and pass through the "normal nursery." However, the longer hospital stay for the smaller, sicker ICAMs means that many cocaine-exposed sick infants are in the hospital at any time. The misperceptions of the pregnant cocaine-misusing woman often cause the ICAM to be born prematurely. The prematurity then superimposes other potential threats on the infant. Further, the environmental chaos into which these mothers and infants return following discharge may also contribute to the difficulties seen among these children. Finally, there are unanswered questions that have to be confronted by the hospital staff. These include ethical questions related to the "costs" of care to the cocaine-exposed infant.

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Cocaine Cross-Sectional Studies Diagnostic Tests, Routine Female Georgia Hospitals, Urban Humans Incidence Infant, Newborn Infant, Premature, Diseases Intensive Care Units, Neonatal Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Neonatal Screening Pregnancy Retrospective Studies Social Environment Urban Population Journal Article

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W R Sexson. 1993. Cocaine: a neonatal perspective.. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826089309039650

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