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Because there is no specific treatment for cocaine babies, therapists must work with the mothers. Parenting programs are teaching women how to handle the babies' long bouts of inconsolable crying and unresponsiveness. But such programs are usually designed for motivated women with some financial resources. Says Dr. Robert Cefalo, of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine: "We should be reaching these women before they conceive."
Too often, that is difficult to do. Crack mothers who show up at hospitals have often smoked up to the last stages of labor. Many are so high they do not notice when labor begins. Says Fulroth: "The crack cocaine mothers are the sickest you're going to see. They come in right when they're ready to deliver, and you just hold your breath waiting to see what you're gonna get." The message is clear: for expectant mothers -- and their babies -- crack is a nightmare.