What I have always been told, by experts in the field of prenatal exposure/addiction, was that anything negative a child might be genetically predisposed to might be enhanced by drug exposure AND growing up in a disadvantaged/neglectful home.  However, if a child was exposed and then placed in a nurturing environment, the effects of drug exposure were negligible, if at all.  The same people also explained that this was NOT true for alcohol exposure.  They were of the opinion that it really depended on when and how much during development, and early intervention into a good environment had very little affect on outcome, although kids had a better chance of success if the environment was nurturing and supportive.

Our daughter was severely exposed.  We have not seen any signs of ADHD, anxiety, or depression.

I think an ideal study would be following two groups of kids- those exposed and left in what I would consider a compromised environment, and those exposed and placed in an adoptive environment.  I just dont see how a child staying in a home where their birthmother is addicted, can be considered an optimal environment for negating in-utero exposure.

All 10 of our adopted children were drug and alcohol exposed. It is difficult to seperate the cause of their behaviors, but instead it is easier to diagnose and treat each child individually. When the wiring in the brain is changed due to chemical exposure during growth, parents may see impulse control issues that put a child into dangerous situations. Without impulse control, a child may jump from unsafe heights, run into traffic, leave a parent in stores, and may open a car door while moving down the highway, or steal, or become addicted to drugs. The vigilant parent is needed for safety while continuously teaching safer behaviors. Some parents innately know what to do for their needy kids. Others must re-educate themselves and lose preconceived notions about parenting special needs kids. Most parents need a supportive network to do this challenging job.

Thank you for this article.  I love to read these kinds of research articles so please, everyone, whenever you read a good article that pertains to this group, do post it.  It is greatly appreciated.

I too have received similar advice to Sara from experts in the field, although I would say that there are always exceptions.  Some kids, for any variety of reasons, will still struggle with ADHD, learing disabilities, etc. regardless of a healthy, nurturing family environment.  These may turn up because of his/her prenatal exposure or may turn up for some other unknown reason, that could have nothing to do with prenatal health of the birth mother.  There are no hard and fast guarantees, although I do agree that there is ample evidence that in most cases, a nurturing environment can negate so much.

Thank you again!