A new study suggests proper treatment can prevent permanent harm to most infants exposed to drugs - legal and otherwise - in the womb.
But the report this week from the Center for Health Policy Research at George Washington University said most addicted mothers and their babies fail to get help."It's time to rethink the way we handle drug-addicted mothers and their children," said Mary Haack, the principal author.
Some 105,000 pregnant women need drug treatment each year, but only 30,000 get any counseling and even fewer receive comprehensive treatment, the study said.
The emphasis on punishment rather than treatment has "strained the nation's already overburdened foster care systems and prisons," the report said.
"Despite common beliefs, most effects of prenatal drug exposure are temporary and treatable," it said.
"Prenatal drug exposure does not always result in birth defects. The use of legal drugs (alcohol and tobacco) and illegal drugs during pregnancy is present in all social classes; and legal drugs are as damaging, if not more so, to the fetus as illegal drugs."