Dr Mary Mather told a Parents for Children conference last week that a mother's substance abuse could lead to medical problems for children later in life. Mather, a consultant community paediatrician and chair of the British Association for Adoption & Fostering's health advisory group, said: "It's a national disgrace that we have no idea of the extent of the problem."
She said there are increasing numbers of children coming into care suffering the effects of a mother's addiction. Symptoms include learning disabilities.
"Children in care are the tip of the iceberg," she said. "Until we're aware of the scale of the problem it's difficult to know what we can do about it."
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