Another devastating "epidemic" has been identified in New York City since the invasion of the drug crack - an increasing number of babies being born underweight, a study showed Thursday.
Paralleling the rise of the crack epidemic, the number of underweight babies born in the city began climbing in 1984, reversing a decline which began more than two decades ago, said a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.The increase was most dramatic among black infants, but more underweight births were also reported among whites, said Theodore Joyce, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and author of the study.
Low-weight births can mean learning disabilities and emotional problems for many babies, often with serious health problems after birth and later in life. Underweight babies, those under 5.5 pounds, are 40 times more likely to die in infancy.
The average monthly percentage of low-weight births among black infants in New York rose from 10.1 percent to 12.9 percent between 1984 and 1988. From 1968 through 1984, the rate had fallen from 13.9 percent to 10.1 percent.
Joyce speculated that cuts in federal funding to prenatal-care programs, soaring rates of sexually transmitted diseases, homelessness and especially drugs like crack were behind the trend.
"If crack is fueling this epidemic, then this is going to be a problem in other cities, and they are going to have to deal with it as well," he said.
"Given the present rate of increase, the rate of low birthweight among (New York) blacks in 1990 will exceed the rate that existed 22 years earlier," added Joyce.
In spite of the heightened health risks, the study did not find increased death rates among New York babies, probably thanks to the city's advanced neonatal care facilities, Joyce said.