During pregnancy, critical neurological development can be affected by exposure to toxic substances such as alcohol and drugs. Though long-term adverse effects of cocaine use during pregnancy have long been suspected of existing, there has not been extensive longitudinal study done to determine the extent of damage to a child’s development.

One challenge present in studying the long-term effects of exposure to cocaine during pregnancy is that it is difficult to isolate the effects of the drug from environmental factors. Many children affected by cocaine in the womb are also in a care-giving situation that may adversely affect cognitive development and function.

A recent study by Singer, Minnes & Short (2004) examined the long-term effects of cocaine on children by observing cognitive development and quality of the care-giving environment for the exposed children.

The participants included 415 pregnant women, including 281 who were using cocaine and 197 who were not using cocaine. The researchers examined the demographics of the children and compared information gathered four years after birth. The information included the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence Test to study the intelligence level of the children and the Home Observation of the Environment: Preschool Version to examine the quality of the care-giving environment.

There were demographic differences between the group of cocaine-using mothers and non-using mothers. The mothers of exposed children were less likely to be married, to have completed high school, or to have prenatal care.

The research found that there was no significant difference in the cognitive ability and care-giving environment between the two groups. There were three subscales, however, that showed that the exposed children had significantly lower cognitive ability: arithmetic, object assembly and information skills.

There were several limitations to this study. One limitation was that it is difficult to isolate cocaine as the cause of cognitive delay because many mothers who use cocaine also use other drugs, both illegal and legal, or abuse other substances in addition to cocaine. For instance, children exposed to alcohol show a significant impairment in cognitive development.

This study is valuable because it is the first study to look at the longitudinal effects of cocaine exposure during pregnancy. Though exposed children did not show cognitive delay in their overall ability, there was evidence of significantly lower scores on three subscales of cognitive ability. Effective future study could look at the impact of intervention and programs designed to support cocaine-using pregnant mothers in their efforts to discontinue use during pregnancy and provide prenatal care.