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April 1994, Vol 148, No. 4 >
Article | April 1994

Infant 'Abandonment' by Drug-Using Mothers: Blaming the Victims? FREE

Daniel R. Neuspiel, MD, MPH
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1994;148(4):437-438. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1994.02170040103021.
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Abedin et al1 describe a series of newborns, mainly exposed to cocaine and other drugs, who were medically dischargeable but remained hospitalized "because of lack of a suitable home or caretaker." They imply that these infants were "abandoned" by their biological parents although their data do not support this supposition, particularly because 25% of the infants were ultimately discharged to their mothers. The investigators suggest that these infants would be better served in foster care, yet they omit discussion of alternative policies to maintain family cohesion. The authors attribute the higher rates of infant abandonment among African Americans to inadequate family support, but they offer little evidence for this hypothesis.

Rather than parental abandonment, it is likely that these discharges were delayed because of hospital and/or local child welfare policies that require investigations into the suitability of the child's home and caregivers prior to discharge following the identification of

REFERENCES

1 +
Abedin M, Young M, Beeram MR.  Infant abandonment: prevalence, risk factors, and cost analysis . AJDC . 1993;;147:714-716.
2 +
Neuspiel DR, Zingman TM, Templeton VH, DiStabile P, Drucker E.  Custody of cocaine-exposed newborns: determinants of discharge decisions . Am J Public Health . 1993;;83:1726-1729.
3 +
Chasnoff IJ, Landress HJ, Barrett ME.  The prevalence of illicit drug or alcohol use during pregnancy and discrepancies in mandatory reporting in Pinellas County, Florida . N Engl J Med . 1990;;322:1202-1206.

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Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature

Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal

References

1 +
Abedin M, Young M, Beeram MR.  Infant abandonment: prevalence, risk factors, and cost analysis . AJDC . 1993;;147:714-716.
2 +
Neuspiel DR, Zingman TM, Templeton VH, DiStabile P, Drucker E.  Custody of cocaine-exposed newborns: determinants of discharge decisions . Am J Public Health . 1993;;83:1726-1729.
3 +
Chasnoff IJ, Landress HJ, Barrett ME.  The prevalence of illicit drug or alcohol use during pregnancy and discrepancies in mandatory reporting in Pinellas County, Florida . N Engl J Med . 1990;;322:1202-1206.

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