Lifelong devastating effects that were predicted didn't come true. The babies's effects were due, instead to prematurity and social issues.
In the 1980s, women who used cocaine during the pregnancy were being prosecuted as child abusers, drug dealers, and murderers.
The original study by Dr. Ira Chasnoff of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Pediatrics, detailed the possible correlation between the usage of cocaine and birth defects of babies, including tremors, low birth weight, seizures, arrested mental development, and other health issues. However, future studies have shown that such defects were due to premature birth.
The media had "distorted" the information, said Dr. Chasnoff, and created a media scare for the use of cocaine. Some advocated that it was a good thing to scare the users of cocaine and make them fear its usage. However, some scapegoats suffered for the scare.
Pregnant women who would have brought up the "crack babies" and led them to live as a family were being charged as drug dealers, because they were giving birth to babies that were "already addicted to cocaine." Additionally, they were also called child abusers and murderers due to what they have done to their children.
Some predicted that the crack babies would be the "most expensive babies ever born" due to its effect on the society, as they were predicted to be mentally retarded and unable to provide or take care of themselves.
Such claims have been disproved as many adult members of the crack baby club have are leading successful lives.
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