Pregnant Women

The use of illicit drugs and abuse of alcohol exact a steep price from our society. Substance abuse is a factor in many serious ills such as crime. More upsetting, however, is the affects that it has on children born affected from their dependent mothers. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 60 percent of women of childbearing age consume alcoholic beverages despite the fact that alcohol consumption during pregnancy is implicated in a wide range of birth defects and developmental disabilities, including mental retardation, physical abnormalities, and visual and auditory impairments. (Nevitt, 1996)

Although throughout the United States activist and educational campaigns have flooded U.S citizens with education on the detrimental effects of maternal alcohol consumption, women are still continuing to consume alcohol while pregnant. Fifty three percent of non-pregnant woman drink alcohol, and despite health warnings, twelve percent of pregnant mothers in the United States still consume alcohol (Pruett &Waterman & Caughey, 2013, p. 62). Fetal alcohol exposure is also believed to be widely underreported in the United States (Pruett et al., 2013, p. 66). Current research concludes that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, nor a safe time during gestation for alcohol consumption to take place (National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome [NOFAS], 2014). Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term used for the various conditions that maternal alcohol consumption causes. Although each case of FASD can present differently, cognitive disabilities, facial deformities, and growth retention are a few of the hallmark adverse effects that alcohol has when it enters fetal circulation (Paley & O’Connor, 2011, p. 64). The United States is impacted economically by these debilitating conditions as well, as it costs our nation $746 million dollars annually to care for these children (Bhuvaneswar, Chang, Epstein & Stern, 2007, p. 3). Nurses in America, and across the globe have a key role in helping to eliminate, and minimize adverse effects of these conditions

Smoking and drinking not only damages the user’s body, but also causes mental and physical deformities of the fetus. Drinking alcohol and smoking while pregnant leads to brain damage and birth deformities of the newborn child. The chance of miscarriage increase along with the possibility of the baby being born early. A premature birth results in delayed comprehension, behavior problems, and lung deformities. Specifically, drinking while pregnant leads to growth problems and spinal damage to the infant. In the long-term the individual will need countless surgeries, braces, and pain medications. “Some research has shown that expectant moms who have as little as one drink a week are more likely than nondrinkers to have children who later exhibit aggressive and delinquent behavior.

In the article, “Is Drinking Alcohol While Pregnant an Unnecessary Risk to Prenatal Development,” Phyllida Brown believes that drinking is bad for pregnant women and can put the baby at risk for Fetus Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) (76). She supports her claim by providing follow-ups on children whose mother consumed alcohol during pregnancy. The children whose mother consumed alcohol, tend to be more aggressive and had a hard time focusing compared to children whose mother didn’t consume alcohol. Some physical traits that children with FAS have are thin lips and tend to be smaller than the average kid (Brown 76). Brown also supports her argument by using a counterargument about how some women claims that it is okay to drink wine or alcohol every once

Regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed during pregnancy infants are in jeopardy of lifelong disabilities if better choices are not made. Devastatingly, this completely preventable condition is left at the mother’s discretion and lies solely on the patient’s education regarding alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Informing pregnant women (or even women who are interested in family planning) of the potential risk factors for their future child will ultimately lead to better decisions during prenatal

-Smoking, alcohol or drug use: Women who smoke tobacco cigarettes have higher rates of preterm delivery and intrauterine growth restriction (Hammoud et al., 2005). Hammoud’s study of pregnant smokers found the odds ratio for intrauterine growth restriction was 2.4 (95% CI, 2.34-2.53), and the odds ratio for preterm delivery was 1.2 (95% CI, 1.13-1.28). The more cigarettes the women smoked per day, the higher the reductions in birth weight; −111 g, −175 g, and −236 g when women smoked 1 to 5, 6 to 10, and >10 cigarettes

The fetus is not the only one harmed by alcohol consumption during pregnancy, but the mother is as well. In fact, many doctors urge women who think they are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant to stop drinking (“Fetal Alcohol”). “One percent of all mothers consume fourteen or more drinks per week during the three months before pregnancy” (Walsh 3). To the average person one percent is not too large of a proportion. However, the volume of alcohol consumed is high during

Taking the above into account, and in contrast to the research design applied by Chasnoff et al. (2015) and Mattson et al. (2006), I would try to address the problem by selecting women that are consuming alcohol during their pregnancy, rather than analyzing the problems once they have appeared. A suitable sample for this approach would be formed by women that had a past history of alcohol consumption and have become pregnant.

Starting from the pregnancy of an alcoholic mother, her poor diet, and constant alcohol intake and possible cigarette smoking could lead to a deficiency and health complications of the infant. If both parents in this situation do not meet the dietary and medical needs of the infant this could lead to mental and or physical problems. If the father of the baby does not compensate for the mothers poor parenting then the baby could suffer or even die. It is very important for the parents and baby to bond so it becomes comfortable with them

In order to provide empirical evidence that supports upcoming medical interventions and public health actions that diminish the popularity of prenatal alcohol use, it is crucial to distinguish groups of women constructed on patterns of variation in alcohol consumption among preconception and pregnancy (Kitsantas, Gaffney, Wu, & Kastella, 2013).

On average, one in thirteen pregnant women have admitted to consuming one or more alcoholic beverage in their previous thirty days of pregnancy (“Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders”). Though one drink may seem miniscule in the scope of an eight to nine month pregnancy, any amount of alcohol exposure can be detrimental to a developing child, leading to life-changing disorders such as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Fetal alcohol syndrome, a severe potential consequence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, starts when a pregnant woman drinks an alcoholic beverage according to Mayo Clinic (“Fetal Alcohol Syndrome”). Alcohol enters the bloodstream and then can travel throughout the body. Alcohol

Lifestyle factors have considerable effects among people, it affects the health of people and it causes many social and biological consequences, such as an alcohol consumption and smoking. It has been evidence that people who are smoking, they are more vulnerable to the respiratory tract and cancer diseases. Firstly, the burden of morbidity and mortality are related to the harmful effects of alcohol consumption and most parts of the world have considered these issues (Rehm et al.,2009). Alcohol use has many crucial health effects and some social repercussions. Some of these health consequences have direct effects among women and men and some others have an indirect effect on children, as a result of alcohol consumption, it may lead to liver cirrhosis, myocardial infarction and some types of cancer. Moreover, women who are pregnant and

Cigarette smoking increases a wide range of issues, with prematurity (20-30%) and low birth weight (which doubles) being the most probable. The first trimester is considered a critical time for growth as the fetus is beginning to develop organs. If a woman smokes only in her trimester and then quits, she has put her fetus at risk of developing a birth defect. Also, the second and third trimesters are important as well due to the fact that neurological defects result if a woman is smoking

The more drink an individual has, the greater the health risks. Alcohol’s hidden harm(s) usually only emerge after a number of years. And by then, serious health problems could have developed (NHS Choices, 2012). The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) suggest that there is a long term health risk and an immediate health risk for excessive drinking and they include: Neurological problems, including dementia, stroke, Cardiovascular problems, including myocardial infarction, Social problems, including unemployment, Miscarriage and stillbirth among pregnant women, and a combination of physical and mental birth defects among children that last throughout life. According to the assessment done by the health professional, Kim was always uncoordinated whenever she was drunk, which made her neglect her children. On most occasions she left her children really hungry, unkempt and starved. She is due to deliver in a couple of days and still engages in tobacco intake which is detrimental not only to her health but her unborn baby. Pitsiou and Argyropoulou-Pataka (2007 p.35) suggest that the main smoking-related diseases that affect women are lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease. Women are also at risk of developing a number of gender-specific problems. Smoking during pregnancy is associated with an overall increased risk of perinatal mortality. It has also been demonstrated to

The relationship between smoking and low birth weight, prematurity, and miscarriage has been well established. The effects of nicotine are seen in every trimester of pregnancy, from increased spontaneous abortions in the first trimester to increased premature delivery rates and decreased birth weights in the final trimester. In 1957, Simpson first noted in an observational study of 7,499 patients that the incidence of premature delivery, as defined by a birth weight less than 2,500g, was twice as great for the smoking mother as compared with the nonsmoking mother (5). A similar study by Walsh concluded that the smoking mother is at two-fold increased risk for delivering a low birth weight infant than her nonsmoking