Addiction And Substance Abuse During Pregnancy

Methadone maintenance therapy is the primary go to source for addicts looking to quit the street drug, heroin. Methadone on it's own has its own number of controversies within society. However add on the fact that a number of patients that attend the meth clinic that is pregnant, well this can add additional controversy and raise ethical implications as well. Ultimately the child is better off when not being subjected to harmful substances such as drugs an alcohol. However when given the choice of heroin or methadone, we will examine what the benefits of methadone maintenance therapy can provide the mother, and the fetus. Methadone clinics provide a safe form of the drug with clean needles which helps cut the spread of HIV/AIDS among the population. While the client is at the clinic it is a good time to reach out and provide the future mother with resources that may help her once her child is born. Clinicians can also take advantage of this meeting time to reach out to the mother and inform her on the benefits of attending a treatment facility to help achieve sobriety.

While both Methadone and Suboxone Treatment have both proven to be very successful in helping the admitted opiate addicts achieve recovery, having the option of Methadone treatment available to the addicted pregnant Mothers, gives them the choice to bring a healthy baby into this world. It is a choice that is only safe with Methadone treatment and not with Suboxne. This is a choice addicted woman did not have before Methadone, and will not have again, should they remove Methadone from the market. And although the community thinks having the clinics brings crime into the neighborhood, they need to consider that every day when the 600

Surratt in the article, “Gender-Specific Issues in the Treatment of Drug-Involved Women” talks about how women biologically react to drug different and how they often connect treatment recovery and motherhood together (Surratt, p. 349). Surratt suggests that women become addicted to drug much more quickly than men (Surratt, p. 349). However, most treatment does no not focus on women’s recover and the unique forms of treatment they may need for recovery (Surratt, p. 350). Often women feel more guilt than men when battling drug addiction because women are more harshly judged for drug use, especially when she is pregnant or has children (Surratt, p. 351). Surratt looks at the treatment program at Florida State called “The Village”, which has treatment program called Families in Transition for mothers battling addiction and their children under the age of 12 years old (Surratt, p. 352). This allows for the children to live with their mothers while they are receiving treatment (Surratt, p. 352). The author held interviews with some women in the program and almost all attributed treatment with becoming a good mother for their children (Surratt, p. 353). Many of the women who were battling with addiction had family members who were addicts or had some form of childhood or domestic abuse (Surratt, p. 355). Treatment for these women needs to be more complex than your typical user because they have many layers of issues to over come. This program did not include the

With an increase in articles discussing external effects that can be avoided to help protect the fetus will help several mothers increase the chance of having a healthier child. Websites such as the CDC in collaboration with other websites can lead to mothers that are properly informed of possible defects that can occur with their child. For a drug to receive pregnancy category research is required. However to find subjects willing to risk their child having a defect to help categories a drug is limited. There are instances where some women may not even be aware that they are pregnant. They may be on an opioid regimen and be total unaware of the damage it could cause their unborn fetus. Once realized by the physician, the mother should be tapered off and place on a pregnancy appropriate therapy of either Methadone or Buprenorphine. There are some mothers that may be addicted to the opioid therapy prior to pregnancy. These mothers require a switch of therapy and behavioral therapy to ensure safety of both the mother and child. Some mothers might be opioid naïve till pregnancy. They may need opioid therapy due them needing surgical procedure (car accident, emergency surgeries), infection, injuries or chronic diseases (such as nephropathy).

Through the years, substance misuse in the United States has turned into an industrious issue influencing numerous people. In 2008, it was assessed that 17.8 million Americans beyond 18 years old where substance subordinate. Women who use medications during pregnancy can have an enduring impact on fetal. Medications can have an impact of maternal and child wellbeing, yet there are a lot of different variables, which influence it, poor social environment, nourishment, cleanliness, and sexual abuse. Regenerative interruption connected with heroin utilization has been shown in both and women and even low dosages of opiates can impede ordinary ovarian capacity and ovulation. The harm that goes hand in hand with substance utilization comes either straightforwardly from the impact of the medication itself or from issues identified with development and/or unexpected labor. The entanglements of jumbling components clamorous way of life, poor nourishment, liquor utilization and cigarette smoking influence the appraisal of the impacts of cocaine in pregnancy. In obstetric practice, 100% of pregnant women utilizing cocaine or heroin are cigarette smokers. Cigarette smoking is presumably the most well known manifestation of substance utilizes and is noteworthy corresponding considering ladies who use unlawful medications. Babies whose moms smoked in pregnancy have a tendency to have lower conception weights and diminished length, cranial and thoracic

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld in the past that a person cannot be prosecuted for being a drug addict. People can be prosecuted for the sale or possession of an illegal drug but prosecuting someone for the illness of drug addiction is a breach of the 8th Amendment’s bar on cruel punishment. Usually cases involving pregnant drug-addicted women arise when a doctor reports that a woman tested positive or appears to have a drug problem. Rarely are there cases where the woman is arrested for possession and then charged with child abuse. For example, if I told my doctor I had a drug addiction, I wouldn’t get reported. Just as

The rationality of those who support the punishment of addicted mothers focus on the idea that maternal conduct could lead to potential detrimental effects upon the fetus and that prosecution of such behavior would serve as both retribution for the fetus and as a deterrent. Whereas those who advocate for the pregnant women view this rational as not only impermissible but also unconstitutional as in current legal standing the fetus has no rights that usurp those of the pregnant woman (Stone-Manista, 2009, pp.823-856). Advocates also suggests that the breadth of forces that lead to drug use in pregnant women have a prevalent cultural and social foundation that the proponents for deterrence and retribution ignore in favor of strict scrutiny. This conflict between women’s rights and fetal rights has caused a paradigm in the prosecution of pregnant drug users as the interpretation of criminal sanctions argues over the definition of ‘child’ as encompassing fetuses in the definition would then lay the foundation for punishment for a woman’s conduct during pregnancy (Stone-Magnets, 2009, pp.823-856). Though currently it is unconstitutional and legally impermissible to prosecute women with state child abuse statutes in regards to drug use during pregnancy; advocates of fetal rights continue to follow

I would like to thank my friends, Sarah Erwin and Anntasia for helping me review and edit my essay.

Many women, including teens, abuse drugs while they are pregnant. This rate is especially high to those who are homeless, underprivileged, or live in a broken home. In order for drug abusers to even have a chance at beating their addiction they have to have support whether it’s family, friends, or boyfriend/spouse. They must also let the abuser now all the consequences to themselves and the unborn child. There are many consequences when using drugs during pregnancy such as miscarriage, health risks to baby, and health risks to the mother. And learning disabilities and brain damage to the fetus.

The use of heroin, cocaine, and other illicit drugs has become a public health concern especially during pregnancy. Maternal substance abuse has become an issue during the crack epidemic in the 1980’s; however, there is an alarm rate of infants born addicted to heroin. More than 3.7% women have indicated the uses some form of illicit drugs during their pregnancy, as well as 1.9 % reports binge drinking (Bhuvaneswar el at., 2008; Grant el at., 2009). With this in mind, more than 375,000 infants are born to maternal substance abusers each year costing over $100,000 in medical expenses covered by the state (Reitman, 2002).

In today’s society people are talking about babies being born to drugs, and how could a mother do that to their unborn child. Drug addiction is a very serious issue that needs more research. We are still learning the effects of substance abuse. One problem that needs to be looked at is are there enough Rehabilitation Centers, to help the women who are addicted to these different street drugs. Also doctor and nurses should not judge these women but instead give them the best prenatal care that can be provided. We need to see what harm and side affects it has on the mother and baby, so that we can be able to understand better how to treat these women and get them off drugs before they do harm their babies.

Substance abuse during pregnancy can have a negative force on the health and wellness of not only the fetus, but that of the mother. The harmful effects of medications, alcohol and illegal drugs on an unborn child can be devastating and can have significant consequences to its use. Sometimes the effects can be faced and treated, and other times the outcome is a lifelong challenge. During the prenatal period, it is important that new mothers are informed of the different types of abuse, how they may affect the fetus, and the adverse conditions their child may be faced with before and after birth.

A large debate in policy has transpired over pregnant addicts being prosecuted for using drugs. This policy designed for pregnant addicts is considered punitive with an undertone of sexism and racism. A vast majority of the population that are affected by these laws are poor and minority women. The government frowns down on pregnant addicts. Their perception is that a “ mother is supposed to be the one who sacrifices herself, who will do anything for her child, who will preserve and nurture it…

This article discusses the increase uses of drugs pregnant women consume, although, the author started off with how a thalidomide disaster of the early 1960s where thousands of babies were born with deformed limbs due to mother’s taking a prescribed sleeping pill at the time of pregnancy that was thought to be safe. Despite the fact it is over 30 years and the use of a prescription drug during pregnancy has increase by more than 60 percent. The contributing factors to the increase uses of drugs among pregnant women are pre-exiting condition such as anxiety disorders, depression, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. If a women decided to become pregnant it is advisable to focus on getting healthy, such as

The drug abuse menace has been indicated to be one of the leading factors that negatively affect people at whatever stage of life right from the fetus stage to the fully grown baby and the adulthood. There were astonishing statistics from the 2008 and 2009 data that relates to the pregnant women and drug abuse. It is indicated that the drug abuse by pregnant women who are younger was higher than the elderly ones. The percentages of pregnant women between the ages of 15 to 17 and abused drugs stood at 15.8% of them, a figure that is relatively higher that that of women in the same age gap who are not pregnant at 13% (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2011).