The Nation - News from Sept. 18, 1989

The incidence of drug abuse during pregnancy among middle- and upper-income women may be widely underestimated, according to a study released at a national conference on drug abuse and parenting in Miami. Many reports have suggested the problem is largely confined to poor, urban minority groups. But a study of 715 women who received prenatal care at various public health clinics and private practices in Pinellas County, Fla., during the first six months of this year found no significant difference in the rate of drug use during pregnancy among women at the public clinics that serve a largely indigent population and those visiting private doctors who cater to upper-income patients.