The pregnant crack addict was portrayed as an irresponsible and selfish women whose very "maternal instinct" was destroyed by the drug.(44) The
crack baby was supposed to suffer not only from medical complications but also irreversible neurological damage that warped his character.(45) Just as the pregnant crack addict had no maternal instinct, the
crack baby lacked an innate social consciousness.
Also see Fitzgerald,
Crack Baby Fears May Have Been Overstated: Children of Cocaine Abusing Mothers Are No Worse Off Than Others in Urban Poverty Study Says, The Washington Post, Sept.
As these children grow up and enter school, they are greeted by school personnel with labels such as, "drug baby," "drug afflicted children," "crack affected children," and "cocaine exposed children," Thus, the name adopted for use in the present report, Prenatal Substance Afflicted Children (PSAC) is substituted for the term, "
crack baby".
To quench their thirst, waiters were on hand with potent
Crack Baby cocktails - a mix of vodka, passion fruit, Chambord raspberry liqueur and champagne - or fine Brut Reserve Pol Roger champagne.
Feb 25, 2004 Thirty leading doctors and scientists issue a letter asking the press to stop using the term "
crack baby." "None of us," the researchers explain, "has identified a recognizable condition, syndrome or disorder that should be termed '
crack baby.'" One of the signatories is Dr.
He comes to realize that his household composed of a hero-worshipping little girl, a
crack baby, and a laid-back foster mother is a loving family.
Careful research ultimately refuted the
crack baby stereotype, showing that children prenatally exposed to cocaine were virtually indistinguishable from nonexposed children born in similar circumstances; the media panic had been rooted in rumors and biased observations.
Once the myth of the "
crack baby" had become part of public discourse, no amount of medical science to the contrary seemed able to dislodge it.
One day the
crack baby has America on the brink of destruction; the next, it's the gun-toting preteen or hopeless single mother.
He said: "I certainly don't want to downplay the risk of cocaine, but tremendous publicity has been given to
crack baby syndrome, with major articles in newspapers and cover stories in news magazines.
The
Crack Baby cocktail is the signature drink of members-only Royal haunt Boujis in South Kensington, London.