Health care and hospitalizations of young children born to cocaine- using women

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the health care and hospitalizations of young children (birth to age 2 years) born to cocaine-using women and to assess the extent to which premature births account for differences between these children and comparison children. Design: A retrospective cohort design using a repeat-matching method: comparison children were matched to subjects with exposure to cocaine on 6 sociodemographic variables, first, without attention to gestational age and then using the gestational age as an additional matching variable. Setting: City hospitals and primary care clinics. Subjects: Children of women giving birth at a single hospital. Main Outcome Measures: Hospital admissions and indexes of health care use for children from birth to age 2 years. Results: Of the 139 subjects with exposure to cocaine, 23% were born prematurely compared with only 6% in the first comparison (P