http://www.phoenixhouse.org/blog/myth-crack-mothers-babies/ Rising above Addiction Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:19:50 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 http://www.phoenixhouse.org/blog/myth-crack-mothers-babies/comment-page-1/#comment-1503 Kim Sumner-Mayer Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:50:16 +0000 http://www.phoenixhouse.org/?p=5855#comment-1503 Thanks for commenting on this issue, Deni. Working on behalf of grandparents and other relatives raising children, usually because of parents' addiction problems, I know how pervasive the "crack baby" myth still is. It is a source of anxiety and shame for caregivers and the children themselves. In COAF's Prenatal Substance Exposure Toolkit, we emphasize over and over again that it is the post-birth environment that most heavily influences a child's development, and not their initial presentation at birth. I hope that comments like yours can help to correct the stereotype, and provide dignity to families affected by parental crack addiction. Thanks for commenting on this issue, Deni. Working on behalf of grandparents and other relatives raising children, usually because of parents’ addiction problems, I know how pervasive the “crack baby” myth still is. It is a source of anxiety and shame for caregivers and the children themselves. In COAF’s Prenatal Substance Exposure Toolkit, we emphasize over and over again that it is the post-birth environment that most heavily influences a child’s development, and not their initial presentation at birth. I hope that comments like yours can help to correct the stereotype, and provide dignity to families affected by parental crack addiction.

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