cocane and pregnant

My sister told me that taking cocaine during pregnancy causes possibly permanent changes in an area of the baby’s brain. She just does not want to listen what I am telling her. I have heard baby might get symptoms that are very much like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. I want you to tell me I am right. I really need help to put this fact into her brain, because she is pregnant and still cocaine user.

That is true that prenatal exposure to cocaine leads to over-stimulation of the brain in the offspring. It could also cause and dramatic impairment in learning. The use of cocaine among women of childbearing age is alarmingly high these days. Only some of them are aware the when a pregnant woman uses cocaine she also exposes her fetus to the drug. Those cocaine-exposed children have increased occurrence of symptoms similar to those seen with ADHD. Medical personnel working with cocaine-exposed children often report them to be indistinguishable from other children that were not cocaine-exposed. Early studies even suggested a fetal cocaine withdrawal syndrome. That is why cocaine use, like other drug use, is not advisable during pregnancy. Nonetheless, dozens of studies over the past decade now indicate that the pharmacological impact of cocaine has been greatly exaggerated. That is why you should definitely make your friend stop use cocaine and report this to the doctor.