Psychotropic Medication Use During Pregnancy Case Study

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.

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 use of controlled substances throughout pregnancy is a very prevalent issue among society today. Controlled substances have devastating effects on not only the mothers using the substances, but also infants while they are in utero and after they are born. Many infants born to mothers, who are abusing drugs, suffer from life threatening illnesses and are forever affected through adulthood. Specifically, heroin is a common drug form that is often used during pregnancy and results in the life threatening effects mentioned above.

Segre, A. R. (n.d.). Perinatal Depression: A Review of U.S. Legislation and Law. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725295/

There are many expecting mothers who suffer from serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or borderline personality disorder that requires they must take antipsychotic drugs to remain stable. There are different types of antipsychotics like typical and atypical. Typical antipsychotics are classified as the first generation of antipyschotics. The atypical antipsychotics, the second generation, are reported to be safer than the typical antipsychotics because they are the newer form of antipsychotic medication. Even though they are reported to be safer, they still have severe side effects on the individual consuming it, like tardive dyskinesia, which are uncontrollable movements of the mouth (McCauley et al., 2009). Some drugs can affect the fetus by transferring to the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is a permeable barrier that allows some chemicals to pass through. It separates the circulating blood from the brain extracellular fluid in the central nervous system. The blood-brain barrier also transports molecules to the brain that are essential to function properly, like glucose and amino acids. Since capillary endothelial cells, which line the whole circulatory system, form the blood-brain barrier the medication could be transported to the fetus. From

Stimulants are considered as a drug and are commonly used today. The question is will use of stimulants while pregnant affect the infant. A pregnant woman can be prescribed stimulants (Antidepressants) because of them being depressed and stressed out about everything that is occurring in their life while pregnant, but what many people do not see is it going to affect the infant long-term. Most mothers want what is best for their child and they want to make sure that their child is going to have a healthy life as much as possible. Is it safe to take the antidepressants while pregnant and will there be any risk factors? There is mainly a biological and environmental that reflect a child’s senses and development.

Morris, M., Seibold, C., & Webber, R. (2012, April). Drugs and having babies: An exploration of how a specialist clinic meets the needs of chemically dependent pregnant women. Midwifery, 28(2), 163-72. Retrieved from http://ebscohost.com.ezproxy.hsc.usf.edu/ehos

How would one feel if one found out that their newborn child has birth defect such as mental retardation or seizures just hours of being born, that their babies cannot live a normal life because of the decisions you made during the prenatal care? Is it really worth it? There has been an exponential increase in the amount of babies being exposed to drugs before they are even born in the United States. Further evidence sparks this controversial issue practically showing that drug use by pregnant women is evidently considered child abuse. By defining the necessity to realize the drastic consequences of a newborn being stimulated by prenatal drug ingestion, by refuting counterarguments that fear of legal ramifications will hinder pregnant women

Substance abuse has been a worldwide problem at all levels of society since the beginning of time. Attention has been made toward the use of legal and illegal substance by pregnant women over the past several decades. Almost all drugs are known to cross the placenta and have some effect on the fetus. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (2013) the first studies of the effect of substances consumed by a pregnant women to the developing fetus were identified in the 1960’s of prenatal tobacco use. These studies opened the door to further research and studies. The effects of Alcohol and opiate use have been studied since the 1970’s (Jones, Smith, 1973) and the effects of a variety of other drugs have been studied since 1979 and early 1980’s (Flinnegan, 1979).

A common teratogen that causes problems in pregnancy is the use of methamphetamine, a stimulant that affects a person’s central nervous system, by the potential father or mother. Research on methamphetamine abuse among pregnant women is in progress and has been for several years, but the exact effects of prenatal exposure to this drug are still actually limited. It is common for a child of a mother who used meth during pregnancy to have brain development problems. The National Institute on Drug Abuse(NIDA), (2013) informs us that there have been only small samples of pregnant women researched for only using methamphetamine, therefore, the results are limited to knowing that “neurobehavioral problems such

Perinatal mental illness is a collective term used to describe mental illnesses experienced by at least 10% of women during pregnancy and up until a year after birth (Hogg, 2014). Mental health is with paramount importance to the role of the midwife (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), 2014) as mental illness is a significant threat to the lives of mothers and can have a huge effect for their babies and families (Knight et al., 2015). Between 2009 and 2013 there were 161 maternal deaths related to mental health problems, one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in the United Kingdom (UK) (Knight et al., 2015). The main types of mental health disorders, signs and symptoms along with possible treatments

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.

“Illegal drugs use with narcotics such as cocaine or methamphetamine can restirct the growth of the fetus, causing low birth weight. Even some prescription medications, such as antiseizure and anticoagulant drugs can cause malformation or mental retardation in a baby (fetus)”. Drugs to the little fetus can harm them and possibly kill them. Moms need to be caution of what they are going and using. The fact a women would even think about using drugs during their pregnancy is just plain wrong to alot of poeple it could be a good thing and to other its could be a bad thing. It depends on persons opinion. Not everyone is going to have to same opinion as eachother.

Per partum depression has been linked to maternal, child, and family unit challenges. Primary care has preferred psychotherapy over medicines for the first try at treatment for mothers with mild to moderate perinatal depression. Pharmacotherapy treatment is the first preferred choice for severe depression. Or a combination of the both. Mothers who have stopped taking their anti-depressants resulting in the majority relapsing. If the mother continues to have depression post-partum, there is an increase in delayed linguistic and cognitive skills in the infant. Weakened emotional development, poor mother-infant attachment, and behavioral problems later in life. Primary care is best suited to use complex, and multilevel algorithms to evaluate the effectiveness of the designed interventions.

2016). Concern regarding miscarriage is universal yet in women taking an antidepressant this concern increases as researchers have theorized that its use may increase the potential for spontaneous abortion. Two large scale studies by Andersen et al., (2014) and Kjaersgaard et al., (2013) documented increased miscarriage rates although a direct correlation between SSRI use and spontaneous abortion was not identified. These two prospective studies combined evaluated