There is a paucity of data on the outcome of infants exposed to in utero drugs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the status of two birth cohorts: cocaine/opiate exposed infants (EXP) (n = 658) and a group matched(race, sex, gestational age [GA]) comparison cohort (COM, n = 730) at 1 mo corrected age (CA). Mothers of EXP were older (29.8±5.1 vs 26.1± 5.9 yrs), less educated (49 vs 31% < 12 yr), and had lower rates of private insurance (3 vs 10%) than mothers of COM. EXP infants were more likely than COM to be in high-risk environments at 1 mo:Table Despite higher environmental risk, there was no difference in growth at 1 mo (% change): Table

Table 1
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On physical exam, 93% of COM and 86% of EXP had good to excellent health status, relative risk (95% CI) 1.08 (1.04-1.2); 74% of COM and 62% of EXP had normal motor development, relative risk 1.22 (1.12-1.31). Despite differences in environment and global ratings of health status and motor development in EXP and COM infants, these factors do not appear to impact on early growth.

Table 2
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