but what about "crack babies"?

A legitimate question if you view the news or shows like 60 minutes or 20/20 very often. But news programs report the exceptional, not the ordinary.

I must say, this is one of the things we liked about Liberia. Folks in Liberia, for the most part, can't afford addictions.

Here is some information that might alarm you about "crack babies" in the US:

The percentage of "crack babies" born at any given hospital is approximately zero.

Researchers have found that the placenta in the womb may actually help protect the fetus from cocaine abuse by the mother.

"The very phrase 'crack baby' is, in any literal sense, a misnomer. Cocaine is rarely taken by itself. It's part of a stew of substances taken in a variety of doses and circumstances."

Longer-term studies show that many children who were exposed to cocaine can develop normally, in particular, when they grow up in a healthy environment.

www.totse.com/en/drugs/legal_issues_of_drug_use/crakbaby.html

www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Cocaine/cocaine4.html#maternal

www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/cocaine/crackbb.htm

I am not by any means saying that we expect to adopt a child who has been exposed to cocaine. I am just sharing that "crack babies" are not as common as we may think, and they certainly are not a lost cause.

Part of the application process is to give very specific information about what we consider "acceptable" substance use during pregnancy. Clearly, "none" is what I would choose if Brett was growing under my heart. But, Brett is growing under someone else's heart, and in ours. So, it is only fair to do the research and make informed decisions about long-term effects of substance exposure. As it turns out, there are other more socially acceptable substances that are far more "frightening" than cocaine!

The process of adoption is amazing in the way it requires us as parents to think about our hopes and dreams for our child. What is our goal in parenting? Is it to have a "perfect" child? Is it important to us to have a child who is a high-achiever academically (not to boast, but, like his mom and dad)? Do we hope our child will have the ability to live independently as an adult?

When we are answering a question on our application like, "Will you consider a baby with light/medium/heavy exposure to cocaine in the 1st/2nd/3rd trimester?", it all comes down to, "Are we the right parents for this child?"

A very difficult question to answer.