“Crack babies” : the management protocol

Excerpt

During the pregnancy maternal drugs use represent an important socio medical issue for their children. In the USA, 10% of women takes drugs during pregnancy: 1-2% use heroin, 3-4% cocaine and less than 1% cannabinoids [1]. The phenomenon is increasing and the country and the neonatal divisions need new management protocols. In Italy children of a mother drug addict born as late preterm are the 17- 29%. The “crack babies” are children exposed to drugs during the pregnancy: we can already define them drug addicts. They may show intrauterine (choking, infection, malformations), neonatal (withdrawals symptoms, prematurity, respiratory distress syndrome, growth restriction neonatal hyperbilirubinemia), and postnatal complications (delay in psychomotor, deficit in language, SIDS, learning disabilities, difficulties in concentration, instability etc)[2] . …