Questions on accepting a "crack baby"

There are a ton of us. You just never know what you're going to get, and I think that is the sticking point for a lot of families. My daughter was exposed to alcohol, pot, cocaine, and a ton of prescription painkillers. She has a minor speech delay, will be 3 in September, and tests above average for everything else. She has ridiculously awesome problem solving skills, and nobody believes me when I list the cocktail that her bm cooked her in for 9 months. My son was exposed to nothing that we know of. But, he sees an OT for sensory issues, and has TWO behaviorists. Nobody can seem to figure him out. They went from suggesting that he was on the autism spectrum to maybe having SPD, and now they are talking FAE. A lot of talk about FAE. It wouldn't surprise me if bm drank during the pregnancy, but she never told anyone if she did. In short, I would adopt another drug/alcohol exposed baby in a heartbeat, however, we want a big age gap between my 2 kids and the next one. I am confident that the problems that might crop up in the future for my children are problems we can handle. I have friends who have adopted children exposed to crack, and while they had some health issues at birth, all of the children are normally functioning elementary school kids now.

For a minute there, I thought this title was a joke.

I thought the same thing, and felt a little sick. OP, please beware that "crack baby" is an extremely loaded and offensive way to refer to a baby exposed to drugs while in utero. Not trying to make you feel bad, just trying to let you know the deal. Our DD was exposed to all sorts of drugs while in utero, and was detoxed from Methadone at birth, for 17 days. At 18 months, she is on target and a bit beyond for milestones...except speech. She babbles constantly, but has no real words yet. We don't and probably won't know if she is just taking her time with her words or if the exposure had something to do with it. My mom-gut tells me she's just on her own time table. I would and will readily take placement of a baby who was drug exposed. I did a ton of research on it, and we felt we were and are very comfortable accepting whatever the future holds for DD.

A little offensive, but I am assuming you're looking for legit information. A baby who has been born EXPOSED TO CRACK (as opposed to "a crack baby") may have severe or moderate withdrawls or complications... or may have none. Quite often, moms who use drugs also use alcohol or multiple substances. Many will not admit to EVERYTHING they use until a baby is born testing positive for x, y and/or z. Resliency is partly a personality trait and some babies are just more resilient than others. Some are more exposed than others. Often parents who use illicet substances are self-medicating. From what? Depression? Bi=Polar? Learning disabilities? Will you ever know? Probably not. Can it effect your child? Yes. If you enter the world of adoption, you can be as careful as you want, as selective as you want, as "picky" as you want... but unless you were with the birthmother every single moment, you're kind of taking your chances. If the child has issues? Chances are you'll love your child no matter what, you'll advocate for them no matter what and you will be their mom... no matter what. Good luck on yoru journey!! :hippie:

Great points! Also, OP, check out the site below. When I was asking some of the same questions as you, someone suggested this site. The people who answer phones there are fantastic! [url=http://www.otispregnancy.org/]Organization of Teratology Information Specialists[/url]