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Mothers, Babies, and Cocaine

The Role of Toxins in Development

• Edited by Michael Lewis, Margaret Bendersky

• Price: $65.00
• Binding: Paperback
• Pages: 416
• Published by: Psychology Press (formerly published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates)
• Publication Date: 1st June 1995
• ISBN: 978-0-8058-1584-9

About the Book

A fetus cannot "just say no to drugs." Use of substances of abuse during pregnancy has skyrocketed in recent years, due in part to the ready availability of crack cocaine. The media have decried the burdens on our health care and educational systems imposed by the adverse consequences of prenatal exposure to cocaine. But how much do we really know about the effects of this insult? Is prenatal cocaine exposure a convenient excuse for the adverse outcomes associated with a myriad of physical and social ills afflicting the drug-using population? This volume presents the most recent scientifically-based knowledge about prenatal exposure to substances of abuse. Written by prominent researchers in the field, it describes what we do and do not know about:
* the mechanisms of the action of cocaine on the developing brain,
* strategies for studying this complex issue,
* the implications of drug exposure and a drug-using environment for long-term functioning in the cognitive, social and emotional domains, and
* possible intervention strategies to prevent developmental problems in children at high risk.

This volume will be a valuable addition to the libraries of researchers, policymakers and practitioners concerned about cocaine-exposed infants.

Table of Contents

Contents: C.L. Jones, Foreword. Preface. Part I:Models. D.L. Dow-Edwards, Developmental Toxicity of Cocaine: Mechanisms of Action. B.M. Lester, K. Freier, L. LaGasse, Prenatal Cocaine Exposure and Child Outcome: What Do We Really Know? B. Weiss, Incipient Hazards of Cocaine: Lessons from Environmental Toxicology. D.E. Hutchings, A.C. Zmitrovich, Methadone During Pregnancy: A Brief Review of Clinical Outcome and a New Animal Model. Part II:Methods. C.V. Vorhees, A Review of Developmental Exposure Models for CNS Stimulants: Cocaine. D.R. Neuspiel, The Problem of Confounding in Research on Prenatal Cocaine Effects on Behavior and Development. J.L. Jacobson, S.W. Jacobson, Strategies for Detecting the Effects of Prenatal Drug Exposure: Lessons from Research on Alcohol. H.C. Olson, T.M. Grant, J.C. Martin, A.P. Streissguth, A Cohort Study of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: Addressing Methodological Concerns. M. Bendersky, S.M. Alessandri, M.W. Sullivan, M. Lewis, Measuring the Effects of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure. E.M. Ostrea, Jr., Meconium Drug Analysis. Part III:Outcomes. L.P. Spear, Alterations in Cognitive Function Following Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: Studies in an Animal Model. R. Needlman, D.A. Frank, M. Augustyn, B.S. Zuckerman, Neurophysiological Effects of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: Comparison of Human and Animal Investigations. L.C. Mayes, M.H. Bornstein, Developmental Dilemmas for Cocaine-Abusing Parents and Their Children. S.M. Alessandri, M.W. Sullivan, M. Bendersky, M. Lewis, Temperament in Cocaine-Exposed Infants. L. Beckwith, S. Crawford, J.A. Moore, J. Howard, Attentional and Social Functioning of Preschool-Age Children Exposed to PCP and Cocaine in Utero. N.S. Woods, M. Behnke, F.D. Eyler, M. Conlon, K. Wobie, Cocaine Use Among Pregnant Women: Socioeconomic, Obstetrical, and Psychological Issues. Part IV:Intervention. A. Baxter, L.S. Butler, R.P. Brinker, W.A. Frazier, D.M. Wedgeworth, Effective Early Intervention for Children Prenatally Exposed to Cocaine in an Inner-City Context. T. Field, Cocaine Exposure and Intervention in Early Development.