converging upon Bermuda, local health care workers and drug counsellors confirmed yesterday.

Health Promotions Coordinator Mrs. Ivena Laurenceo said there had been a troubling increase in babies born addicted to drugs in Bermuda.

"There are more expectant moms addicted to drugs,'' she said. "And the children are marred or disadvantaged for life.'' She made the comment after a seminar by world renowned paediatrician Dr. T.

Berry Brazelton in which he told of an alarming rise in drug abuse by expectant mothers in American inner cities.

One in six babies in America was born addicted to drugs, he said, with 11 to 25 percent of new mothers in some cities admitting drug use during pregnancy.

Apart from being born agitated and suffering other withdrawal symptoms such as vomiting, their babies often suffered lifelong health problems, he said.

Responding, acting coordinator of Addiction Services Mrs. Gryneth Robinson said: "We have seen a rise in young moms of small children struggling to control addictions.'' The mothers were usually referred to the drug programme after their babies were born and it was discovered they had been addicted to drugs.

Attending Addiction Services was often a condition of getting their child back from Family Services, she said.

She knew of at least one case of a baby being born "in an agitated state'' to a drug-addicted mother.

She said babies being born with drug addictions was no surprise given the promiscuity of drug users.

And Mrs. Gaynelle Hayward of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital's Maternity Ward said she had noticed more pregnant women admitting a history of cocaine use.

But she said it was hard to say if a baby was a so-called "crack baby'', because symptoms were often vague and the mother had not admitted drug use in the first place.

However, she had definitely suspected drug abuse by the mother in some cases.

Dr. Brazelton, who worked with US First Lady Hillary Clinton on her health care reform plan, had said during the seminar that Bermuda was decades ahead of America when it came to the health and social well-being of its children.

But he warned Bermudians not to become complacent, especially when it came to drug abuse.

He added that in America, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was the third most common cause of retardation in children.

Dr. Brazelton also told the child care workers of the horrors of his recent visit on behalf of UNICEF to the former Yugoslavia. He met a boy there who had seen three family members murdered including his pregnant aunt.

Dr. Brazelton believed US inner city kids were going through similar nightmares every day.

"I find Bermuda 10 to 20 years ahead of the US when it comes to the well-being of its people. But I urge you to think ahead now about what you can do to prevent such nightmare traumas occurring here,'' Dr. Brazelton told the dozens of teachers, social workers, nurses and doctors attending the seminar.

Bermuda should continue to value cultural diversity, he said, and make every effort to stave off increasing violence in society.

Dr. Brazelton's associate Dr. Barbara Howard said she wished Bermuda was farther away from America so it was not fed any of the country's "violent'' TV programmes.

There was proof violence on television contributed to teenage and adult violence, she said, adding the easy availability of handguns in America did not help.

CHILD EXPERT -- Renowned paediatrician Dr. T. Berry Brazelton.