Drug addiction and pregnancy: policy crossroads.

The medical and lay press have lately written extensively about drug by pregnant women...The medical consequences for mother and infant can be. In addition to the well-known roster of ills related to intravenous such as hepatitis B, endocarditis, abcesses, etc., illicit have become increasingly associated with sexually transmitted diseases AIDS. The sequelae for infants can include abstinence symptoms, low, developmental problems, and increased risk of infant death. has responded to this problem in three different ways: criminal of the mother; allegations of child neglect against the mother interruption of maternal custody; and drug treatment. The purpose of article is to explore each of these policy approaches in an effort to whether each furthers the goal of reducing drug use during pregnancy improving maternal and infant health and well-being.